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6 /a-. ■*' 

THE MODEL PASTOR. 



A MEMOIR 



LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE 



REV. BARON STOW, D.D., 



LATE PASTOR OF THE ROWE STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, BOSTON. 



BY 



JOHN C. STOCKBRIDGE, D. D. 




S 
BOSTON: 

LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. 

NEW YORK : 

LEE, SHEPARD AND DILLINGHAM. 

1871. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, 

By ELIZABETH L. STOW, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
No. 19 Spring Lane. 



1<=7 



TO THE 

MEMBERS OF THE THREE CHURCHES 

OF WHICH DR. STOW WAS PASTOR, 



®{jta Volume 



IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 



BY THE EDITOR. 



PREFACE. 



This volume is a compilation. The editor has en- 
deavored to make such a selection from the mass of 
materials placed in his hands as, in his judgment, will 
interest the largest number of readers. In the journal 
of Dr. Stow there is an entry which has been kept con- 
stantly in mind in the preparation of this Memoir. It 
bears the date of October 3, 1829. 

"Reading memoir of Legh Richmond, by Grim- 
shawe. The compiler shows himself too much. A 
biographer should leave his biography to be executed 
by another." 

Scrupulous care has been taken to bring out in full 
relief the man whose life we have tried to portray, let- 
ting him speak to us in his journal and correspondence, 
and through the activities of a long, laborious, and 
successful professional life. A feeling of continual 
regret has followed the editor, through his whole work, 
that he has been obliged to omit so many things that he 
would gladly have laid before his readers, and which, 
he doubts not, they would have read with pleasure. 

(5) 



PREFACE. 



Restricted, however, as he was, to one volume, and 
therefore obliged to say all he wished to say within 
what appeared to him to be such narrow limits, he has 
sacrificed his personal wishes to the suggestions of the 
publishers of the book. 

Special thanks are due to the friends of Dr. Stow 
who have prepared the delightful reminiscences which 
will be found in this volume. Nor would it be just to 
omit to notice the excellent service performed by Rev. 
S. F. Smith, D. D., whose good taste in the selections 
made from the very voluminous journal of Dr. Stow 
entitles him to our warmest praise. No one more 
deeply regrets than does the editor that Dr. Smith was 
unable, on account of impaired health, to complete the 
work, upon the performance of which he entered soon 
after the decease of Dr. Stow. May the divine blessing 
accompany the publication of this volume, with all its 
imperfections, leading all its readers to adore that grace 
which wrought so wonderfully in fitting him whose 
character it delineates to perform such blessed service 
in the church of the living God. 

J. C. S. 

Providence, R. I., March 1, 1871. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Parentage. — Baron Steuben. — Youthful Development. — 
Conversion. — Death of his Father. — Correspondence 
with Alonzo King. — Enters Columbian College. — Remi- 
niscences by Rev. E. Hutchinson 13 



CHAPTER II. 

Columbian College. — College Life. — Journal. — Preaching 
Tour into Virginia. — Return to his Studies. — Journal. 27 



CHAPTER III. 

Visit to New Hampshire. — Last Year in College. — Recep- 
tion of General Lafayette. — Journal 40 



CHAPTER IV. 

Anxieties about the Future. — Graduation. — Editor of the 
Columbian Star. — Life in Washington. — Marriage. — 

Reminiscences by President Caswell 49 

7 



O CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

Calls to settle in the Ministry. — Accepts the Invitation 
to Portsmouth, N. H. — Ordination. — t Journal. — Calls 
to Salem, Mass., and Waterville. Me. — Urgent Appeals 
from President Chaplin 59 



CHAPTER VI. 

Last Year in Portsmouth. — Invitations to remove to dif- 
ferent Places. — Journal. — Call to Baldwin Place 
Church, Boston. — Letters from Rev. J. D. Knowles and 
Dr. Sharp. — Dr. Lams on on Dr. Stow's Ministry in 
Portsmouth 75 



CHAPTER VII. 

Sketch of the History of the Baldwin Place Church. — 
Personal Reminiscences. — Installation. — Success in his 
Work. — Journal 87 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Elected Secretary of the Triennial Convention. — De- 
clines. — Journal. — Correspondence. — Letter to the 
Baldwin Place Church. — Journal 99 



CHAPTER IX. 

The earnest Worker. — Longings for a Revival. — A use- 
ful Sermon. — The great Revival of 1838. — Gathering 
in the Harvest. — Missionary Discourse. — Death of Pro- 
fessor Knowles Ill 



CONTENTS. y 

CHAPTER X. 

Reaction. — Letter to Deacon S. Beal. — Physician pre- 
scribes Rest. — Continued Labor. — Colony sent to Bow- 
doin Square. — Effect on his Mind. — Trip to Europe 
proposed. — Embarkation. — Correspondence. — Journal. . 128 

CHAPTER XI. 

Improved Health. — Letter to the Baldwin Place Church. 

— Naples. — Rome. — Northern Italy 150 

CHAPTER XII. 

Crossing Mont Cenis. — Geneva. — London. — Visit to Bar- 
ley Wood. — Embarkation for Boston. — Home again. — 
Called again to the Presidency of Waterville Col- 
lege. — Elected Secretary of the Triennial Convention. 

— Revival of 1842. — Its Results. — Physical Prostration. 168 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Correspondence between 1836 and 1845 183 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Call to the Presidency of Granville College, Ohio. — 
Discouragements at Baldwin Place. — Call to the Ninth 
Street Church, Cincinnati — Advice of Dr. Sharp. — Let- 
ter of Rev. John Stevens. — Embarrassments of the For- 
eign Mission Board. — Correspondence 197 

CHAPTER XV. 

a busy ministerial llfe. — anxiety wits reference to his 
Church. — Journal. — Resignation 215 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Reminiscences of Baldwin Place Church. — Correspond- 
ence. — Call to the Pierrepont Street Church, Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. — Call to the Rowe Street Church, Boston. 
— Acceptance op the latter Call. — Journal 225 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Chalmers's Memoir. — Inner Life. — A Harvest Year. — The 
Spiritual Physician. — Record of twenty-five Years. — 
Death of Dr. Sharp. — "First Things." — Call to Brook- 
line. — Letter to the Executive Committee of the Mis- 
sionary Union. — Record of the Year 213 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Correspondence. — Fourth Invitation to the Presidency of 
a College. — Journal. — Death of Edward D. Chamber- 
lin. — " Christian Brotherhood." — Second Voyage to Eu- 
rope. — Journal while abroad. — Home again 257 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Reminiscences by Dr. Child. — Letters from Europe. — Cor- 
respondence , 273 

CHAPTER XX. 

Ministerial Work recommenced. — Discouragements. — Rem- 
iniscences of Anniversary Periods. — The Dark Days of 
the War. — Conflicts of Feeling. — A happy Surprise. — 
Journal. — Criticisms on Robertson, Bowles, and Hugo. — 
Views on "Evangelism." — Ravages of Death. — Review. 301 



CONTENTS. 11 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Called to an Account. — Correspondence. — Resignation of 
the Pastorate op Rowe Street Church. — Call to Alton, 
Illinois. — Letter op Advice prom Ministering Brethren. 
— Decision to remain in Boston. — Correspondence. . . . 313 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Connection with the Watchman and Reflector. — His last 
Article, " Calvinism a Power." — Sickness and Death. 
— Funeral. — Letters from President M. B. Anderson, 
Dr. W. Dean, Dr. R. Fuller, and Dr. B. Sears 335 



MEMOIR OF BARON STOW, D.D, 



CHAPTER I 



Parentage. — Baron Steuben. — Youthful Development. — Con- 
version. — Death of his Father. — Correspondence with 
Alonzo King. — Enters Columbian College. — Reminiscences 
by Rev. E. Hutchinson. 

1801-1822. 

The subject of this Memoir was born at Croydon, N". H., 
January 12, 1801. His father, Peter Stow, was born in Graf- 
ton, Mass., June 21, 1771, and his mother, Deborah Nettleton, 
in Killingworth, Ct., February 11, 1775. 

The family of which Peter Stow was a member were pio- 
neers in a new settlement, and their occupation that of farm- 
ing. Having an eager desire to acquire knowledge, he availed 
himself of such books as he could obtain, and improved all 
leisure hours in study. The only periodical then taken in the 
town was one small weekly paper. At an early age he com- 
menced teaching, and for several successive years devoted the 
winter season to that employment. 

When twenty-one years of age, Peter Stow became a sub- 
ject of renewing grace, and united with the Baptist church, 
where, until death, he maintained a consistent Christian char- 
acter, and was prominent as a faithful member and officer, 
winning the confidence and respect of all who knew him. 
The town honored him with the office of first selectman for 
many years in succession. He was also representative to the 

13 



14 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

legislature. " The poor," says his son, " found in him a ready- 
benefactor, the rich a welcome visitor, the afflicted a sympa- 
thizing companion and counsellor. As a husband he was 
kind, affectionate, appreciative; as a father, strictly exem- 
plary, judiciously indulgent, implanting in the hearts of his 
children an abiding impression that the homage and respect 
divinely inculcated were preeminently due to such parents as 
God had given them." 

Peter Stow seems to have cherished an admiration for the 
memory of Baron Steuben, so well known as a Prussian officer, 
who came to this country in 1778, and distinguished himself 
in our revolutionary war. He had resigned the high offices of 
government which he held at home, and, by the persuasion of 
Count de St. Germain, French minister of war, and of other 
gentlemen connected with the French cabinet, with whom the 
baron had come in contact while in Paris, he came to this 
country at the age of forty-eight, " a soldier of fortune," says 
Irving, " to the rude fighting-grounds of America, to aid a 
half-disciplined people in their struggle for liberty." It is 
easy to conceive that the advent of such a distinguished 
military officer, once the aide-de-camp of the great Frederic 
himself, landing on our shores at a time when our affairs were 
in their most desperate condition, must have formed a theme 
of conversation, not only in the larger circles of city life, but 
in the rural homes of the dwellers in the villages and hamlets 
of the land. Peter Stow was a boy of nearly seven years of 
age when this event took place. For several years the baron 
was identified with the fortunes of his adopted country, and 
his career was undoubtedly watched with deep' interest in 
every section of the land. We find that as late as 1789 he 
was present at the inauguration of President Washington. 
It is believed, either because he was pleased with the name, 
or because he had a high apj^reciation of his services, that 
Peter Stow called his first-born son Baron Steuben Stow. 
The middle name was subsequently dropped, and this son 
was known as Baron Stow. 

We have been able to glean but few facts concerning his 



YOUTHFUL DEVELOPMENT. 15 

early days. In childhood there began very soon to be devel- 
oped traits of character which made him a boy of mark. He 
was fond of study, and was blessed with a memory so reten- 
tive that he made himself master of whatever he intrusted 
to that important faculty. His partial, fond friends, observing 
the progress he made, were wont to make the remark, " That 
boy is destined for a statesman or a minister." 

Writers of biography almost always see, or think they see, 
in the early developments of the intellect and tastes of the 
subjects of their sketches the sure prognostics of their coining 
greatness. We read that, when Chalmers was three years 
old, one evening, after it had become dark, he disappeared, 
and search being made for him, he was found alone in the 
nursery, " pacing up and down, excited and absorbed, repeat- 
ing to himself, as he walked to and fro, the words of David, 
1 0, my son Absalom ! O, Absalom, my son, my son ! ' " 
Says his biographer, Dr. Hanna, " Almost as soon as he could 
form or announce a purpose, he declared that he would be a 
minister. The sister of one of his school-fellows at Anstru- 
ther still remembers breaking in upon her brother and him, in 
a room to which they had retired together, and finding the 
future great orator (then a very little boy) standing upon a 
chair, and preaching most vigorously to his single auditor be- 
low. He had not only resolved to be a minister, but had 
fixed upon his text — 'Let brotherly love continue.'" 

In like manner, we are told, the youthful Baron began " to 
exercise his gifts," as our fathers used to say, and that, even 
at the early age of five years, he showed what was the bent 
of his inclinations. Not far from the house of his father, by 
the road-side, there was a boulder of considerable size, which 
was called " the pulpit." Ascending " the pulpit," the boy- 
preacher, having called around him an audience of his play- 
mates, would act the sacred orator, exhibiting a gift of elocu- 
tion and a command of language which made him quite the 
admiration of his listeners. 

When he was eight years of age his father moved from 
Croyden to the adjoining town of Newport, where he had 



16 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

purchased a farm. Here the lad attended the district school. 
We judge that he was a boy of delicate organization, not for 
ward in the sports of his schoolmates, but more disposed to 
study than to play. Apt to learn, and passionately eager, 
like his father, to acquire knowledge, his progress in his 
studies was rapid, and he invariably took the highest rank in 
his class, easily keeping the position which he gained. So in- 
satiable was his thirst for reading, that at the age of fourteen he 
had read every volume in the town library. A boy of so pre- 
cocious intellect could not fail to make for himself a warm 
place in the heart of his proud, loving father. With tender 
solicitude he watched the unfoldings of his mind, and resolved, 
if it was in his power, that his son should enjoy all the advan- 
tages of a liberal course of study. But he was a farmer, and 
a farmer among the cold hills of New Hampshire, where the 
most earnest and untiring efforts are necessary to secure often- 
times no more than the ordinary comforts of life. The labors 
of his son, now reaching an age when greater physical strength 
was develoj>ed, were demanded to assist him in carrying on 
his farm. And yet, as the obedient, respectful child, who would 
not thwart the wishes of his parent, toiled by his side, there 
would, ever and anon, rise a mental vision of the future career 
which might be his boy's, if he were prepared, by study and 
discipline, to enter upon it. In the intervals of rest from the 
labors of the farm, books were the recreation of the lad, and 
he was never happier than when poring over the pages of 
some favorite author. 

A dark, sad day was it when death entered that quiet 
rural home, and, when Baron was fifteen years old, removed 
from him his best earthly friend, the proud, happy father, who 
had laid out so many plans for the future welfare of his son. 
At a single stroke the hope of obtaining an education seemed 
to be overthrown. As the eldest son in a family, now con- 
sisting of a widowed mother and five children, grave respon- 
sibilities immediately came upon him. The means for obtain- 
ing a support for these dependent ones must come from the 
farm. With a pang of regret more bitter than can be de- 



HIS EYiRLY CONVERSION. 17 

scribed, the fatherless boy, abandoning the idea of getting an 
education, at least for the present, turned his attention to the 
paternal patrimony, which had been bequeathed to him. He 
resolved, with his characteristic ardor, that he would spare no 
pains to secure the means of support for the family, which 
now looked up to him as their natural protector and friend. 
At once he began to lay his plans for improving the farm, or 
rather, for carrying out those commenced by his father. Al- 
though he gave himself most conscientiously to this work, the 
old aspirations would be aroused in his soul. The love of 
knowledge could not be suppressed. As opportunity pre- 
sented, he would return to his beloved books, determined to 
supply the want of a more public education by his persistent 
efforts for self-culture. The work of the farm engrossed his 
attention during the summer ; but the greater leisure of the 
winter months afforded him an opportunity to avail himself 
of the privileges.of the district school. At length he has so 
far mastered the studies to which he has applied himself, that 
we find hmij in the autumn of 1818, when not eighteen years 
of age, engaged himself in teaching a country school. 

Not far from this time there was an interesting revival of 
religion in Newport, and among its earliest subjects was 
young Stow. Without giving a minute detail of the circum- 
stances of an event transcending in importance any other that 
was to occur in his history, it is enough to say that his con- 
victions of sin were deep and thorough, and his view of sal- 
vation through a crucified Saviour clear and satisfactory. 
As might be well supposed, from our knowledge of the sin- 
cerity of his views, he did not long delay in making a public 
profession of religion. On the last day of December, 1818, 
in company with fifteen happy converts, he was baptized by 
Rev. Leland Howard, of Windsor, Vt., and united with the 
church in Newport. 

The new impulse which was thus given to his whole nature 

made him pant more than ever to go forward in the work of 

training his faculties, that he might bring to the Redeemer, 

who had so largely blessed his soul, the best gift which he 

2 



18 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

could lay upon his altar — a cultivated intellect, along with a 
regenerate heart. Who can describe the conflict which was 
carried on in that sensitive soul between the claims of filial 
affection and duty to his widowed mother on the one hand, 
and what, on the other hand, seemed to him a call of God, 
coinciding with his own inclinations, to enter upon the work 
of preparation to preach the gospel? The struggle was at 
last ended. The heart of a loving mother yearned over him, 
whom, though recognized by her as her son by natural birth, 
she had come to regard in a higher and holier sense, as a " son 
of the Lord God Almighty." Interposing no objection, but 
rather giving him her maternal benediction, she sent him to 
Windsor, Vt., where he put himself under the tuition of Rev. 
Mr. Howard, who so recently had baptized him. With this 
Christian brother, who proved to be his life-loDg Mend, he 
remained a year. 

And here seems the proper place to speak of one of those 
early friendships which Baron Stow formed, similar, in its 
warmth and sincerity, to many others which he formed in 
later years. Among his acquaintances was a young man of 
about his own age. In many respects they were kindred 
spirits. Both had that delicate, sensitive organization which 
in both was the source of the exquisite enjoyment, and, we 
may say, of the keen mental suffering, of which at times both 
were alike the subjects in their maturer life. Both were 
refined in their tastes by nature and by cultivation. Both 
had fine intellectual abilities, although Mr. Stow always gave 
the precedence to his friend in this respect. Circumstances, evi- 
dently providential, called the one to fill a more prominent 
sjmere than the other occupied ; but the Boston pastor never 
ceased to look up to his friend, who, wasted away by con- 
sumption, died as the minister of what was then a humble 
church of a quiet village in the interior of Massachusetts. 
The friend to whom I refer was Alonzo King, the gifted 
compiler of the Memoirs of the sainted missionary George 
Dana Boardman. 

The earliest letter which I find in the mass of correspond- 



LETTER TO ALONZO KING. 



19 



ence from which I shall have occasion to draw, was written 
by Baron Stow to his friend King. It bears the following 
date, and is reproduced just as it was written. 

Windsor, May 11, 1819. 

Brother King : Having an opportunity to convey a line directly 
to Cavendish, I will devote a few moments in writing to a friend whom 
I esteem in sincerity. Through the mercy of God we are all alive and 
in good health, enjoying unmerited favors and privileges. Brother Ely 
and myself are now construing in the New Testament. Brother E. says, 
" We are prospering marvellously" (his manner of speaking). It is a 
very pleasing study, rich and sweet. The English appears like husks 
to the Greek. God is still the Lord, gracious and long-suffering. Let 
us proceed, leaning upon the arm of the great " I AM." There appears 
everything to discourage me when I look upon one side of the case; 
but cast these behind, like Satan, and nothing but encouragements ap- 
pear. So I am changeable as the wind ; but God's will be done, what- 
ever it is. 

" Pax fratribus et caritas cum fide a Deo Patre et Domino Jesu 
Christo." — Paulus. Vale. 

Baron Stow. 

While thus pursuing his studies at Windsor, Mr. Stow had 
no prospect of obtaining a liberal education. His plan was, 
after remaining for a time with Mr. Howard, to commence at 
once the work of the ministry. Providentially meeting with 
Rev. Dr. Baldwin, he was won by the genial, sympathetic 
manner of one who always loved to encourage his younger 
brethren, and disclosed to him his purposes, and solicited his 
advice. His wise counsellor urged him not to stop short of a 
collegiate course of study, and prophetically remarked, " Per- 
haps you will some day fill my place." Nothing is easier 
than to give advice and to tell a young man, struggling to 
get an education, to go forward, and yet, to point out no way 
by which, for years, he is to pay his bills, seems almost a cruel 
mockery. The good people of New Hampshire used to say 
to Dr. Baldwin, at the close of a hard Sabbath's labor in 
preaching, " Well, Brother Baldwin, you have been very kind 
to come among us to-day. The Lord will never let such a 
good man as you are want for anything." All which was 



'20 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

very pleasant, but it would not fill up the flour barrel, nor 
keep the wolf from the door. Happily, in giving his advice 
to his good friend, Dr. Baldwin was able to point out a way 
by which he might defray his expenses. His mind set at 
rest on this point, he went forward in the work of preparation 
for college. 

The correspondence with his friend King, in the mean while, 
is kept up. It exhibits the warmth of his religious feelings, 
and shows how earnestly his heart is being enlisted in what 
is to be the great work of his life — the preaching of the 
gospel. 

Windsor, Monday Evening, December 13, 1819. 

Dear Brother King : "As I was musing, the fire burned." My 
unstable imagination, wandering up and down the earth, at last fixed 
itself upon my little circle of friends in Newport, and there fastened, 
immovable. I fancied Brothers F. and King surrounded by those who 
can speak of the dying love of Jesus, while I myself, a poor, despised 
creature, am in Windsor, grovelling in the midst of a valley of dry, dry 
bones, surrounded for six hours in the day with about thirty or forty 
souls, who are bound up in sin and slumbering in carnality. But, 
thank Heaven, I find the same God here as there, and I think, for a few 
days past, I have found him precious to my soul, through the merits of 
hi& Son. O, what a blessed Jesus is brought to light in the gospel ! For 
the first three evenings after I began my school, I studied my Latin 
Grammar; but since that I have laid it aside for the precious volume 
of truth. It is a dry study now. Six "evenings out of the seven has the 
" midnight oil " been consumed in my lamp. One evening I was at Mr. 
Howard's at a prayer meeting. 0, blessed employment, to pray to God ! 
I am now boarding at a place where little or nothing is said about 
heaven or divine things ; therefore I have no company but my God and 
my Bible. Perhaps you think me enthusiastic, but 

" Sweet is my frame, 
And I'll bless Jesus' name; 
Though men scoff and jeer, 
Yet men 1 don't fear." 

Yesterday I went to meeting with such feelings as my soul never 
felt before. Joy, peace, and consolation filled my heart. I could not 
forbear relating my exercises to others. But how was I surprised to see 
Mr. Howard introduce a Boanerges into the pulpit ! 'Twas Leland, the 
judge. He prayed. The moral heavens appeared opened, and the 
Spirit descended. He preached : " They that trust in the Lord shall be 



CORRESPONDENCE. 21 

as Mount Ziou," &c. Silence and solemnity pervaded the assembly. 
In the evening he preached to a great number, Psalms lxii. 5 : "My soul, 
wait thou only on God, for my expectation is from him." My soul was 
fed with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock was I 
satisfied. How fleeting and transitory are all earthly enjoyments ! Alas, 
how often have I forsaken the substance, and snatched the wind ! How 
often have I broken the commandment, " Thou shalt have no other God 
before me ; " and again, " Love not the world, nor the things that are in 
the world." I have found, by sad experience, that " if any man love the 
world, the love of the Father is not in him." O, can I ever reach 
heaven? Yes, " The blood of Jesus is free, and cleanseth from all sin." 
Trust in the Lord, then, O my soul, and take his yoke upon you. Learn 
of Jesus, who is meek and lowly in heart, and rest, unceasing rest, shall 
be your portion, while ages shall roll on ages, and time be lost in the 
vast ocean of eternity. Vale. 

Yours in Christ our Lord, 

B. Stow. 

Passing over the next year or two, during which he was 
occupied with his preparatory studies, we find him acknowl- 
edging the receipt of another letter from his ever-constant 
friend. From this letter we form an idea of the vast 
changes which have taken place during the past fifty 
years in the facilities of travel. At that period how far 
distant from their homes did those seem to be, who had 
gone a few hundred miles ! Waterville College had been 
but recently founded, and Mr. King was among its first stu- 
dents. From the mountain home of his friend Stow, it 
seemed as if he had departed to some far-off region of the 
earth. 

Newport, N. H., March 17, 1821. 
My Dear Brother : 

" What pain unusual thrilled my heart, 
When you and I were called to part, 

Perhaps no more to join 
In praising God within the doors, 
Till passed beyond these mortal shores 

To kneel before his shrine." 

I acknowledge the receipt of your friendly letter, which arrived 
here in twenty days after it was written. It was more than was ex- 
pected, K. It was a favor which I could not deem myself worthy from 
your hands, or any friend situated at such a distance. The letter was 



22 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

mailed at Rochester, N. EL, so that you may well think I was aston- 
ished, upon breaking the seal, to discover the name of my beloved 
brother Alonzo. I was somewhat disappointed to find that you had not 
written the particulars of your journey and voyage, as also your situa- 
tion at Waterville, and the studies you were pursuing. But I have 
since, in a degree, been informed with respect to your passage and safe 
arrival at your destined residence. As I think my desires and enjoy- 
ments are, in a degree, bound up in your joys and prosperity, I am 
sorry to find that you did not feel that contentment and satisfaction you 
would wish. I am not able to sympathize with you, having never passed 
through the scene of forsaking parents and friends to traverse unknown 
lands, a stranger to every mortal creature, and depending on the charity 
of others for maintenance. Yes, I feel for you, and endeavor to remem- 
ber you in my feeble petitions at the throne of grace, that you may be 
supported in your situation, enjoy the comforts of the Holy Ghost, that 
God would smile upon your labors to obtain both human and divine 
science, and in all things your trust may be in God alone. O that I 
could visit you, whether it be in your study, in the house of God, or in 
the gloomy wilderness ! I would unbosom to you, with satisfaction, a 
series of joys and sorrows, through which I have passed since the sor- 
rowful evening of your departure, I taught school the winter past in 
Unity, near Brother Gilman's. Had a pleasant season. The Lord has 
graciously wrought wonders in that place a few months past. Several 
have been baptized, and others cherish a hope of eternal life. In 
Claremont truly the work of the Lord is powerful. Brother Kimball, 
from Marblehead, Mass., is preaching there to the Baptist church. 

After alluding to several other places in which there are 
revivals, he adds, — 

That happy scene is drawing nigh, when 

" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 
Does his successive journeys run." 

O, may it be hastened, and we be prepared ! 

Unworthily yours, B. Stow. 

The next communication is written in a sad strain. Some 
of its gloom is doubtless attributable to a morbid state of 
mind, brought on by excessive application to study. As we 
shall have occasion to see, all through life, Mr. Stow was sub- 
ject to these fits of depression and self-depreciation. Persons 
of his peculiar temperament rarely escape them. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 23 

Newport, N. H., April 30, 1821. 
Beloved Brother : I received your interesting favor of March 28, 
on Friday last. Though I did not endure much trouble, fearing you 
had forgotten or possessed a disposition to neglect me in the least, yet 
I was apprehensive my letter might be mislaid, or have gone to the 
President of the United States, or in some other improper direction. 
Truly I was highly gratified, on seeing the mail opened, to find another 
communication from friend A. K. I perused its exhilarating contents 
with a cheerful heart. I had been confined to my room for several 
days by indisposition of body, but your cheering language and mani- 
festations of unalterable sympathy gave a vigorous spring to both soul 
and body, and almost transferred me from a sick bed to the beloved 
society in Waterville, and to the embrace of an absent friend and broth- 
er. I feel to endeavor to answer your epistle so far as my weak capaci- 
ties will allow ; but never expect to find in me the ability to express 
such ecstatic raptures of soul as flowed from your pen. The friendship 
we have contracted, I trust, is inviolable; but truly I often feel, K., it 
has not on my part " Christ for its foundation." I often fear a separa- 
tion will ere long take place, more trying and sad than we have ever 
yet experienced, and I must depart to the left hand and you sit at the 
right hand of our offended Judge in the burning day ! Still I hope — 
but how dare I hope, while the pride and arrogance of my heart are so 
great? Am I doing my duty in thus confining the powers of body and 
soul down to the dead languages ? But I hope soon to be released from 
the trammels of Cicero, Graeca Minora, and Sallust. My health is such 
that I often think the Lord never intended me to obtain a collegiate educa- 
tion ; and alas, how many poor souls, during that time, will go down to 
perdition ! But should I find prosperity, I shall probably enter either 
Harvard University, or Middlebury College, Vt., at next commence- 
ment. 0, pray for me, that I may be humble and lead an exemplary 
life. 'Tis a joy to me to correspond with such a friend. Cease not to 
counsel me, and may we pray for each other's growth and prosperity 
in time and eternity. 

Your friend indeed, 

B. Stow. 

The time had arrived when Mr. Stow must decide the ques- 
tion, at what college he should pursue his studies. It may 
be interesting, as it corresponds with the experience of so 
many other young men, to note the perplexity into which he 
was thrown when he came fairly to meet the question. A 
letter to his Waterville friend reveals the struggles through 
which he passed in reaching the decision to which finally he 



24 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

came. "We see in this communication the ardor of his feel- 
ings, and his earnest desires to enter upon the great work of 
preaching the gospel, leading him to doubt whether he ought 
to devote so much precious time in gaining merely secular 
knowledge. 

Newport Academy, August 9, 1821. 

Brother A. : Your last came to hand safely and jofully. I had 
long waited with impatience for an answer to my inquiries. That sub- 
ject has greatly agitated my mind at times, and almost deprived me of 
rest. I find it of great moment to decide upon a place where to reside 
four years. And my anxieties have been greatly heightened by the 
obsequiousness of correspondents at different literary institutions. I 
have been urged by some to enter Yale — by Brethren Elliott and Rice 
at Harvard — by General Forbes and others in Vermont, at Middle- 
bury, Vt. Visiting Hanover a few weeks since, I was beset and 
thronged with arguments in favor of Dartmouth. Some even venture 
to recommend Columbian College, at Washington, as preferable to all. 
At some of the aforesaid institutions, expenses are so high as will pre- 
clude the idea of my pursuing a collegiate course with them. Others, 
not so respectable either in moral or literary character, render it un- 
pleasing. What can I do ? Waterville is too far situated from friends 
and home to attract me thither, unless advantages far exceed other 
colleges. My mind seems, however, to settle on Middlebury, Vt. 
as I have received some charitable offers from the patrons of that in- 
stitution. That grows extremely in respectability, and promises fair to 
excel many that now stand high in the esteem of many literati. Pro- 
fessor Patton has just arrived from Europe, whither he was sent to 
receive his education on purpose for the professorial office. Board is 
there from one dollar to one dollar and twenty- five cents per week, 
tuition twenty dollars per year, and room rent six dollars. If Provi- 
dence will, I hope to enter there in the spring. I should enter this 
season, but, having read most of the studies of the first quarter, I think 
to teach school five months between this and the first of March. Thank 
you much for your frankness in answering my inquiries. 
Affectionately yours, 

B. Stow. 

Notwithstanding his decision to enter Middlebury appeared 
to be final, circumstances seemed providentially to point to 
Columbian College, Washington. His health was delicate, 
and it was thought that a milder climate might be beneficial 
to him. It is evident that he had overworked himself. In 



REMINISCENCES. 25 

one of his letters he speaks of having suffered from a severe 
attack of inflammation in the head, by which he was deprived 
of his reason for nearly a week, and confined to the house for 
almost three weeks. Having recovered from this attack he 
began, with earnestness, to consider all the reasons which 
were to govern him in the decision of the question, where 
he should spend the years of his college life. He concluded 
to go to Washington. He became a member of Columbian 
College in September, 1822. 

Perhaps this chapter cannot better be closed than by pre- 
senting extracts from reminiscences of the early life of Mr. 
Stow, furnished by one of his warmest friends, Rev. E. Hutch- 
inson, of Vermont. 

" The name of Baron Stow brings up most precious memo- 
ries, which extend back forty and fifty years. From child- 
hood it was my privilege to know and love the good man 
who bore that honored name, for he was my teacher, pastor, 
and life-long friend. His first effort at teaching was in my 
father's school district, in the year 1818. There he began to 
show forth those great powers of mind which so remarkably 
distinguished him in after years. His accurate scholarship, 
thorough discipline, and wonderful faculty of drawing out his 
pupils and making them think for themselves, made his first 
teaching a sure success. During that winter occurred the 
great event of his life. The church were enjoying one of 
those old-fashioned revivals, or ' reformations,' as they were 
called, so common a half century ago, continuing two and 
three years, when God's people could, in the language of the 
old patriarch, * stand still and' see the salvation of God.' 
The young schoolmaster felt the Spirit's convicting power, 
but determined to resist it. At length the eventful evening 
came. The young people met for prayer at the house of the 
pastor, and he was induced to attend, resolving to close his 
heart against all influences that might be brought to bear 
upon him. The house was crowded, and the divine Spirit 
was there in mighty power. As one and another of his 
associates spoke, he trembled and resisted. At length the 



26 MEMOIR- OP DR. STOW. 

pastor's little son was brought from his dying bed, by his own 
earnest request, to speak to his young friends of the love of 
Christ. All hearts melted, and God made the last message 
of that dying boy the means of salvation to Baron Stow. 
He at once raised the altar of prayer in his school, and as 
that young man bowed for the first time in prayer with his 
scholars, many of whom were older than himself, the stoutest 
hearts were subdued, and the majority of them were brought 
to Christ. He immediately became an active worker in the 
revival, and was soon looked upon by his elder brethren as 
designed of God for the Christian ministry. 

"His baptism, which occurred soon after, was beautifully im- 
pressive, and is fresh in my recollection. It was midwinter. 
The ice was cut in the charming Sugar River, and the great 
congregation surrounded the place of burial; and as good 
Elder Howard buried him with Christ in baptism, and raised 
him from the watery grave, hundreds of voices joined in sing- 
ing those favorite lines, — 

" Christians, if your hearts be warm 
Ice and snow can do no harm ; 
If by Jesus you are prized, 
Rise, believe, and be baptized." 



COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. 27 



CHAPTER II. 

Colusibian College. — College Lite. — Journal. — Preaching 
Tour into Virginia. — Return to his Studies. — Journal. 

1822-1824. 

As a member of Columbian College, Mr. Stow at once was 
brought in contact with congenial society. The change from 
the quiet scenes of his home among the hills of New Hamp- 
shire to the capital of the country must have been very great. 
He was now almost twenty years of age. He had learned the 
lesson of self-reliance, and had known something of the strug- 
gles and discipline through which a young man passes, who is 
seeking, with few resources, to obtain an education. Thus his 
character was in a good degree matured, and there was every 
reason to believe that he would derive the greatest benefit 
from the course of study upon which he was now entering. 

Columbian College was the child of the Baptist Triennial 
Convention. Professor Gammell, in his excellent History 
of American Baptist Missions, says that "the constitution 
of the new society" — the Triennial Convention — "was 
framed with but little experience, and almost without the aid 
of models ; yet it was, perhaps, well suited to the condition 
and spirit of the denomination as it then was in this country. 
It originally contained provisions only for the* snpport of 
foreign missions, but, at subsequent meetings, it was modified 
in several important particulars, and made to include both 
domestic missions and the establishment of * a classical and 
theological seminary ' for the education of young men espe- 
cially for the gospel ministry. The introduction of this latter 
object into the organization of the convention had its origin 



28 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

in the deep sense of the importance of a well-educated min- 
istry, which at that time pervaded the minds of the fathers 
and the leading men of the denomination. This provision of 
the constitution gave rise to the establishment of the Colum- 
bian College at Washington, D. C, an institution which was 
managed by the Triennial Convention." 

The first president of the new .institution was Rev. Dr. 
Staughton, who was elected to this office, and entered upon 
its duties, in 1821. No man more thoroughly possessed the 
confidence of the denomination, or occupied a higher rank as 
an eloquent preacher of the gospel. The influence which Dr. 
Staughton exerted on the susceptible mind of the ardent, 
warm-hearted young man who had come under his supervis- 
ion, was of the most positive and permanent character. A 
prince among pulpit orators, he left the impress of his teach- 
ings and his example on the whole professional life of his 
pupil. Other men who have gained a reputation in the de- 
nomination, who were connected with the college at the 
period of which we are writing, were Dr. Irah Chace, Dr. 
Alva Woods, Thomas Sewell, M. D., Professor William Rug- 
gles, and President A. Caswell, among the professors, and 
Dr. R. Babcock, Professor J. D. Knowles, Professor T. J. 
Conant, and Dr. R. E. Pattison, among the tutors. Among 
the classmates of Mr. Stow were Dr. R. W. Cushman, Hon. 
Thomas D. Eliot, and Professor James Jones. With several 
of these gentlemen Mr. S tow's relations, during his whole 
life, were of the most intimate and endearing character. 

The following letter to his old friend and correspondent, 
' Alonzo King, is in his most pleasant vein, and happily con- 
trasts with the somewhat morbid communication found in the 
first chapter. It gives us an insight into his college life and 
experience which we are glad to find. 



Columbian College, D. C, March 1, 1823. 
Dear Brother King: Your poetic effusion came safe to hand 
January 10, and ever since I have been invoking the muse ; but she is 
as contrary as a yoked pig. She will not be compelled, and if I succeed 



INSIGHT INTO COLLEGE LIFE. 29 

in allowing her to follow, she hobbles sadly, and tumbles over every 
stick and stone. I thought of Polyphemus (I don't mean Brother Caleb) 
and fEneas, but you had spent all the force of epic on them, and I dared 
not approach the terrific scene of the eyeless, long-legged monster chas- 
ing the poor tempest-beaten Trojans through the Sicilian waves. I 
thought of Nimrod, and Cain, and Tirus ; but Lord Byron had stolen 
them away. I thought of Newport, and mused, and found somewhat to 
dedicate to Melpomene, but none to Venus. Juno, the goddess of mar- 
riage, and Diana, pf , claim a part. 'Twould be a motley mess. 

I looked around on the groves, the hills, the great river, the Capitol, the 
shades of Mount Vernon, &c, &c, but imbibed not one poetic feeling. 
And rather than give' you blank verse, or rhyme upon stilts, I deter- 
mined to answer in stiff, old-fashioned prose. 

Alonzo, were you not really at home when you wrote last? I was, 
when I had read your letter. 0/1 am at Newport every time Somnus 
infuses her papaverous influence, and more than once in a week do I 
salute my dear brethren and friends in the land I have left. Home 
thrills in my soul, and draws forth a vain sigh for its comforts and 
pleasures. They are marrying and giving in marriage ; some removing 
to other lands, others to " the land of silence and of death." A variety 
of feelings possesses my soul at different times. Yes, Baron is still the 
same old variable creature. I have not the same hypochondria as for- 
merly, though often low-spirited. 

My duties are such as employ every moment of my time, and leave 
no leisure for moping melancholy. By the request of the publishing 
committee of the General Convention, I have undertaken to conduct 
the Latter Day Luminary. This occupies every leisure hour. Dr. 
Staughton has just closed a course of lectures on natural history. 
These were very interesting. For seven weeks we have been per- 
mitted to go one day in a week to hear the debates in Congress, and the 
pleas in the Supreme Court of the United States. Many of these have 
been instructive and animating. 

This letter shows us what he seldom reveals to us — the 
playful side of his character. The daily duties which he was 
called to perform, and the pleasant surroundings of his new 
home, had their influence on his mind, and took his thoughts 
out of the channel in which they so frequently ran. Some 
extracts from his journal reveal his inner life, " the life hid 
with Christ in God." They furnish us, moreover, some hints 
which fill up certain gaps in his history, which we know not 
how otherwise to fill. 



30 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

June 16, 1823. I now enter upon the twenty -third year of my life. 
Twenty-two years have passed rapidly, and, I may say, unprofitably. 
Four years since I professed to know the Lord, and commenced the 
highly responsible and sublime work of preaching salvation to sinners. 
One year ago to-day I preached in Goshen, N. H., bade adieu to friends 
in Newport Village, previous to leaving for the soutlu It was a trying 
scene. May it never be repeated. But here I am in my college course, 
with many intervals of pleasure ; preaching occasionally. Negligent as 
ever in other duties. I dare not resolve again to devote mj^self wholly 
to God's service. I long for complete holiness. Gracious Heaven, 
purify and increase this desire. Humbly may I ever lie at my Redeem- 
er's feet. May my intellectual improvement be great, but my spiritual 
be far greater. 

June 21. Walked from the city this morning. Attended the meet- 
ing of the society for missionary inquiry. Much interested. A genial 
shower fell last evening, which makes all nature revive. The breezes 
are truly pleasant. O that the breath of Heaven would blow upon my 
soul, refreshing my thirsty graces ! I am parched in a land of spiritual 
drought. 

June 23. Preached yesterday in the College Chapel, from 2 Cor. 
iv. 5, with enjoyment. One year this morning I sailed out of Boston 
harbor for the south. At this hour (midday) was moving very pleas- 
antly down the Cape. It was Sabbath. What were my feelings ! What 
have I since been doing? How little have I been thankful for a life 
preserved from the dangers of both sea and land. 

July 9. Yesterday was our semi-annual examination. Succeeded 
as well as I expected. My class (the Sophomore) was thoroughly ex- 
amined in Horace, Plato, Xenophon's Memorabilia, Aristotle's Philo- 
sophic works, Blair, and Legendre's Geometry. In Horace I was 
somewhat lame ; in all other parts was well prepared. Twenty-six 
weeks of successive toiling at books. Now the respite will be pleasant. 
I expect to take charge of the Star, a paper that has been under the 
direction of Brother Knowles. Engagements to preach are numerous. 
Heaven grant me that humility and zeal for God which shall make me 
truly faithful. May I ever remember that great examination day when 
God shall try me. 

July 11. Weather exceedingly warm. My mind greatly alienated 
from divine things. Too fond of other books, to the neglect of the 
Bible. I desire more conformity to God, more holiness, and more 
preparation to serve him. 

July 18. Lonely. The college is now nearly vacated: two tutors 
and one student beside myself remain. I have two reasons for so 
doing — one, that I may have full leisure to attend to the Star and 
Luminary ; another, to keep alive our Sunday schools, and maintain 



JOURNAL. 31 

divine service on the Sabbath. Retirement is, however, profitable, if 
rightly improved. I have health, I have books in abundance round me. 
What want I more ? Alone, I can pray, read, and meditate at any hour. 
If Christ be with me, how can I be melancholy ? 

July 20. Air cool and refreshing. Genial showers have refreshed 
vegetation. When plants are parched and drooping beneath scorching 
beams, how delightful to see the rains descend from heaven, and raise 
them to life and vigor! So the Christian rejoices, when travelling 
through this dry and barren waste, to see a cloud of mercy rise and 
pour down the divine blessing on the heritage of God. 

July 26, Saturday. Busily engaged all this week. The Star and 
Luminary employ almost my whole time ; nor do I then make them 
appear as I could wish. Here I learn ray weakness and ignorance. 
Sometimes I am tempted to think I am " somewhat," but when seated to 
write an article for the public, then I feel how insignificant I am. 

August 2. Time closely occupied in editing, and visiting friends; 
little time for reading and meditation. Last summer vacation I studied 
languages, preached often, and attended prayer meetings. This, I 
preach little and pray less. 

August 3, Sabbath. Great comfort in prayer. 

Saturday evening, August 16. Fatigued and overworked. Con- 
template relief next week, by a trip into Virginia with Brother Cas- 
well. Embarrassed in my pecuniary affairs, but in a worse condition 
of soul. I preach so little, and so seldom engage in public religious ser- 
vices, that I am growing dull and formal ; but in private have some sweet 
seasons, perusing God's word, and imploring the divine blessing. Such 
periods are my greatest comfort and joy. The smiles of a Saviour's 
countenance, how lovely, how enrapturing! " God is love." 

Sabbath, August 17. Preached in the Chapel, from Luke xiii. 5 — 
an unusually pleasant season. To-morrow, or the next day, set off, with 
Rev. O. B. Brown and tutor Caswell, for Virginia. 

These extracts, despite the self-depreciation which is so 
often expressed in them, exhibit the subject of this Memoir 
as a busy man, not only carrying on his college studies with 
such success as to keep Mm at the head of his class, but edit- 
ing a paper, and preaching as occasion offered. We rejoice 
with him that a respite, short, indeed, but so beneficial, has 
come from his long-protracted labor, and that his energies are 
to be recruited amid the hospitable homes of Old Virginia. 
The journal continues, — 

Tuesday, August 26. This day week set off for Virginia, first 



32 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

night, stopped at Mr. Edmond's, Alexandria — heard Rev. O. B. B. 
preach in the evening. Next day, went to Dumfries, passing Accatank 
Run, Pohick Church, Neabses Run, Occoquan River, &c., in Fairfax 
County, into Prince William's County. Tarried at the house of Cap- 
tain Fairfax, in Dumfries ; heard Rev. Mr. Bryce preach. Next morn- 
ing, took breakfast with Major Toulson, near Chapawansick. Arrived 
at Rock Hill, Stafford County, at eleven A. M.- Met the Columbia As- 
sociation. Rev. Robert Latham preached the introductory sermon, from 
Gal. vi. 14 (rank Antinomian). Tarried with Mr. Tacket two nights, 
and one with Colonel Mason ; treated with true hospitality. Ten ser- 
mons were preached at the stand by Brethren Caswell, tutor in Co- 
lumbian College, D. C, from John xv. 24; Bryce of Alexandria, from 
1 Tim. i. 15 ; Raynolds, of Ninevah, from John i. 1 ; James, of Fred- 
ericksburg, from Col. iii. 8; Garnett, from the Shiloh Association, 
from Matt. xvi. 18 ; O. B. Brown, from Washington, text Romans 
viii. 28; Johnson, of Little Falls, Isa. lviii. 1; B. Stow, Columbian Col- 
lege, text Ezek. xxxiii. 11; Joseph Ballard, Columbian College, 2 Cor. 
v. 10; H. O. Wyer, Columbian College, Rom. i. 15. I preached Sunday, 
the 24th, at twelve and a half o'clock. Immediately set out on my return, 
in company with Brother Prettyman, of Alexandria (Brother Caswell hav- 
ing left the day before, via Harper's Ferry). Dined at Major Toulson's ; 
preached at candle-light at Dumfries ; staid the night with Brother Fair- 
fax; next day dined at Alexandria — arrived at College Hill at sunset, 
refreshed in body and mind. The roads are bad, but the people kindly 
affectionate. 

Many years after this, Dr. Stow wrote a sketch of this 
preaching tour, a part of which may be worthy of a place here, 
as illustrating Virginia hospitality, and the amusing incidents 
to which it sometimes gave rise. 

After a hard and almost break-neck ride of twelve hours, we 
reached Dumfries, and, as introduced by Luther Rice to one of lus 
resting-places, we were cordially welcomed for the night by Brother 
Fairfax. He had already received a large^ number bound on the same 
errand. He had not out the sign of country inns in France — " Loge 
pour cheval etpied" where horse and foot lodged under the same roof, 
and sometimes in the same apartment, but he had large hospitality, and 
that night it was exorbitantly taxed. An appointment for preaching had 
been given out, and we all went to hear a "strange brother " hold forth. 
The singing was congregational, led by one whom we knew, and who, 
with abundant power of lungs, "gave out the lines," two at a time. 

On retiring for the night, the ladies occupied all the beds, and the 



RETURN TO WASHINGTON. 33 

sixteen gentlemen, of whom ten were preachers, camped on the parlor 
floor. The men, disposed to make the best of their imperfect accom- 
modations, were rather jocose, and indulged in story-telling that inter- 
fered with slumber. At length, by general agreement, all was hushed, 
and one o'clock found the most of us beginning to sleep. But one 
old gentleman had a thought, and he must needs violate the compact. 
So he called out, " Brother Grub, Brother Grub, you are the bestest 
man to give out a hymn that I ever hearn." This was too laughable to 
admit of rebuke for the disturbance, and further quiet was out of the 
question. So we went on the next day to the place of meeting, hoping 
to double our rest the following night. 

The absence was brief, but so thorough a change from the 
usual course of his every-day life, and the religious work in 
which he was engaged, greatly "refreshed him in body and 
mind," and he returned to Washington, in some measure pre- 
pared to enter with fresh zeal upon his college studies. His 
journal shows that he was not idle during the few days that 
intervened between the last date and the commencement of 
a new term. 

August 29. Reading North American Review, and Johnson's Lives 
of the Poets. The Bible to-day is a sealed book. For several days 
have too much neglected closet devotion. 'Tis impossible for me to 
live without much prayer. My conscience smites severely; what is 
worse, my soul shrivels and becomes barren. 

September 4. Preached last Sabbath eve for Rev. O. B. Brown; 
text, Luke xiii. 3. Endeavored, with as much seriousness and earnest- 
ness as possible, to teach my hearers the nature and importance of true 
repentance. Some deny the obligation of sinners to repent, consequent- 
ly the propriety of preaching the doctrine. Others say, if repentance 
be the gift of God, how can man repent ? Others think they need no 
repentance ; and indeed it is far easier dealing with such than either of 
the other classes. Notwithstanding all these hinderances, I am com- 
missioned to preach the word to all men indiscriminately. I hope to do 
it with affection and fidelity, whether men will hear or forbear. 

Although Mr. Stow entered college in 1822, he was so 
well prepared, and had applied himself so diligently to 
the prescribed course of study, that he soon passed into 
the Sophomore class, and was a Junior at the commence- 
ment of the new year, 1823-24. He begins the 'year in 
3 



34 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

a happy frame of mind, and takes up his college work with 
his wonted ardor and determination to excel. Those great 
alternations of feeling, which, all through life, were so marked 
a feature of his character, are ever showing themselves, both 
in his letters and in his journal. Much of his depression, as 
in the case of that eminent servant of Christ, whom, in many 
respects, he so much resembled, Rev. Dr. Payson, of Portland, 
Maine, must be attributed to his peculiarly sensitive organiza- 
tion, and is to be set down to the account of hard intellectual 
work and the exhaustion of nerve power. He was consti- 
tutionally prone, at times, to look on the dark side of things. 
All his ideals were of the loftiest kind, and it pained him that 
he fell so far short of reaching them. No man could dwell 
with more pathos on the riches of the divine mercy, or more 
glowingly set forth the blessed truth that where " sin abound- 
ed, grace doth much more abound." In terms of exultation, 
when addressing others, he could assure the downcast and 
the disconsolate, that " like as a father pitieth his children, so 
the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our 
frame, he remembereth that we are dust." But the sweet 
promises which he could always apply so successfully to 
others, he could not always claim for himself. Was he singu- 
lar in this respect ? 

September 13. Have entered again upon my college studies. 
Health greatly improved, spirits buoyant ; my principal embarrassments 
are in pecuniary affairs. Among such friends as I have here, however, 
I fear neither starvation nor nakedness. Four years and a half I have 
been well supplied by a good Providence — still trusting him. Here 
again I wish to renew the solemn vows I have made to my Maker. O 
God, I would glorify thee. Keep worldly ambition (that cursed thing) 
far from me. May I lay all my talents and all my attainments at Jesus' 
blessed feet. May this desire inspire me to improve every moment to 
the best advantage. 

Septamber 21. Bilious fevers are now very prevalent. My tem- 
perament is rather pulmonary than bilious ; a slight cold often irritates 
my lungs, and produces fever, which, in several instances, has well nigh 
terminated in consumption. About ten years ago this season, my dear 
father, who was then at Concord as representative for his native town, 
took a severe cold, — not more severe than my own at the present time, — 



JOTJENAL. 35 

which, three years after, terminated his life by a complication of dis- 
eases. Perhaps my days are destined to be ended by a similar process. 
With me, it is all the same. I pray Jesus to accept me. 

September 22. Letters from dear friends in Newport. My dear 
cousin William Heath was, I learn, buried in baptism on Sunday, 
the 7th. 

October 6. Yesterday heard Dr. Staughton preach two excellent 
sermons, A. M., at the chapel; text, Matt. xv. 28, in which he con- 
sidered, 1. Suppliant; 2. Solicitation; 3. Embarrassments met by sup- 
pliant; 4. Success. The discourse was simple and plain, but melting. 
Speaker's sensibilities were greatly moved, as were those of the assem- 
bly. The evening text was Job xl. 9. His eloquence is frequently too 
powerful for me. It often gives me pain by exciting my feelings too 
high. If I covet anything, it is his preaching gifts. 

October 10. Reading Memoirs of Fuller. Much interested in the 
peculiar character of the man. The biography discloses very little 
of the private character of Mr. F. It presents the journal of the good 
man's soul, represents him as a worthy pattern of devotion and en- 
lightened zeal — preaching, writing, travelling, and collecting for the 
mission at Serampore. 

October 15. To-day finished Memoirs of Fuller. He was a man 
of prayer. His was a life of devotion and toil, and now in heaven he 
meets the reward of his labors. Let me imitate such good examples. 

November 10. Different Protestant congregations assembled with 
the Sabbath schools in Georgetown, when a large assembly was ad- 
dressed on the importance of giving to youth religious instructions. 
Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine, Episcopal, spoke first, in a very eloquent, impres- 
sive manner, followed by Rev. Mr. Mines, Presbyterian, of Leesburg, 
Va. , Rev. Charles Davies, Methodist, of Baltimore, Rev. Dr. Staughton, 
Baptist, of this college. A collection of thirty-eight dollars was taken 
for the benefit of the schools. 

November 20. Thanksgiving day in some of the New England 
States. How many have this day assembled, in obedience to the re- 
quest of their rulers, to praise and adore God ! My heart is with them. 
May the practice of my forefathers be long perpetuated. 

November 21. The anniversary of my father's death. My thoughts 
fly homeward. Does not my dear mother think of that hour when she 
was stripped of her companion ? Is not this a solemn day to her ? God 
has been her comforter ; in him may she ever trust. 

December 6. Called' to mourn the loss of Professor E. B. Craven, 
professor in botany. His aged parents are bereaved of an only son, 
and science mourns the premature loss of one of its brightest lights. 

Saturday evening, December 13. Unusually busied, arranging for 



36 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

semi-annual examination on Monday. After that, we look for rest to 
body and mind, a while. 

Tuesday, December 16. The confusion is over. I had a part original 
— " The effect of certain causes on the development of genius." Though 
not well, I was enabled to perform my part easier and better, I hope, 
than I anticipated. May I watch and pray against every vain thought, 
making all, improvements subservient and subsidiary to the cause of 
" Him who has redeemed me." If I improve in the powers of reason- 
ing, writing, or eloquence, may my sole object be to use my acquire- 
ments in the great life work of persuading men to believe on the Lord 
Jesus. 

Thursday. Last evening attended a levee at Dr. Staughton's, where 
were the Faculty, some of the trustees, and the young gentlemen who 
exhibited the day before, entertained in the politest manner. 

December 25. To multitudes this is a day of feasting ; some there 
are, doubtless, who feel the kindling of devotion, sincerely thankful to 
God for the gift of our Saviour I would at all times be devotional, 
and remember that for me " the babe was born in Bethlehem." 

Monday, December 29. Engaged to-day in writing an address to the 
students, on the subject of the " Struggle of the Greeks to obtain their 
liberty." Much is now doing in the United States for their relief; stu- 
dents in particular are urged to show their patriotism by contributions. 
My zeal and enthusiasm in this cause reproach me, for they rarely are 
so deeply engaged in pleading for the cause of my beloved Lord. 

January 2d, 1824. Yesterday attended the president's levee. The 
crowd of people was immense, all anxious to pay their respects to the 
chief magistrate of the nation. The -company, moreover, was very re- 
spectable, all the proceedings were conducted with propriety and deco- 
rum. The president appeared to great advantage, welcoming all who ap- 
proached him with great ease and familiarity. His cabinet were all pres- 
ent except Mr. Crawford. General Jackson was one of the company. 
He is very easy and polished in his manners. There were considerable 
show and display, but much less than I anticipated. The thought struck 
me, How readily do men do homage to an earthly ruler ! but when the 
Prince of Peace claims their attention and respect, they obstinately re- 
fuse him altogether. 

January 16. College re-opened. Attended Congress to-day, and heard 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, on roads and canals. He was powerfully el- 
oquent. 

Saturday evening, January 17. Addressed the students in College 
chapel, on the "Greek Revolution." Arrangements were made for aid- 
ing them by contributions. 

Friday noon, February 6. Attended United States Supreme Court. 



JOURNAL. 37 

Heard Mr. Oakley of New York, plead the right of his state to monopo- 
lize its waters, and grant to individuals the exclusive right of navigat- 
ing these waters, as it had done in the case of Livingstone and Fulton 
with their steamboats. Mr. Webster spoke for the plaintiff (Mr. Gib- 
bons) the day before. Mr. Oakley is counsel for the defendant (Mr. 
Ogden). 

February 11. Five years ago to-day, commenced my studies, prepar- 
atory to the great work before me, with Brother Howard, at Windsor, Vt. 
What has been my improvement? How have I advanced in holiness^nd 
zeal for the Lord of Hosts ? In many respects I fear I am more sinful 
than at that period when I left my parental roof to prepare to act my 
part on " the world's wide stage." I have just commenced to make im- 
provement. I hope yet to make gradual and profitable advances. The 
kindness of my heavenly Father has exceeded my most earnest petitions. 
I feel this evening a glow of love to my blessed Redeemer for his excel- 
lency and loving-kindness. I feel disposed to unite with etherial worship- 
pers, honoring him as " God over all, blessed forevermore." Amen. 

Sunday, February 15. 

" Welcome, sweet day of rest, 
That saw the Lord arise." 

The brethren students have a prayer meeting every Sabbath morning, at 
nine o'clock, to invoke the blessing of God on the services in the chapel. 
In these meetings I have more real enjoyment than in all the preaching 
through the day. I delight to hear the truths of the Bible explained and 
enforced upon the conscience ; but this is not communion with God ; 'tis 
more the work of the understanding; prayer is the feeling of the heart- 
conversation with a kind indulgent Parent. My closet is too much neg- 
lected ; I do not derive a tithe of the blejssings from it I might. My 
mental enjoyment through the day is generally in proportion to the 
degree of devotional feeling in the morning. 

February 19. Engaged in intense study — Paley's Theology, and 
Lacroix's Analytic Geometry. My health is now so good that study is 
both easy and pleasurable. 

February 20. He'ard Mr. C. J. Ingersoll in the Supreme Court, 
General Jackson in the Senate, and Mr. Trimble, of Kentucky, in the 
House. Wrote a communication this evening for the Columbian Star, 
recommending a Baptist Tract Society, first suggested by Brother 
Samuel Cornelius, pastor of the Baptist church in Norfolk. • 

Wednesday, February 25. Attended the formation of the Baptist 
Tract Society. A constitution was adopted and the following officers 
chosen: Rev. O. B. Brown, President; Rev. John Bryce, Vice-Pres- 
ident ; Mr. George Wood, Agent ; Rev. Luther Rice, Treasurer ; Mr. 
Isaac G. Hutton, Secretary. Directors, Rev. Dr. Staughton, James 



38 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

D. Knowles, Joseph Shaw, Joseph Gibson, E. Reynolds. Annual Meet- 
ing, last Wednesday in February. 

Sabbath evening, February 29. This morning heard Mr. Mcllvaine. 
of Georgetown, preach a most powerful sermon, from Matt. xxv. 46. 
He is the most evangelical, faithful Episcopal preacher I ever heard. 

March 5. Reading Griscom's Year in Europe. Many of his moral 
reflections are very judicious, and show he has a philanthropic heart. 
He deplores most heartily the causes and effects of our war. 

Sabbath, March 21. The past week, have been very busily engaged 
in my studies and the concerns of the Seminary. I feel quite unfit 
for the devotions of the holy Sabbath. Read several chapters in Isaiah 
this morning. He is that prophet that said, in reply to the interrogations 
of the Almighty, " Here am I ; send me." May I feel the same spirit. 

Tuesday, March 23. Attended a reception given by Professor James 
Staughton at his father's for the tutors, Mr. Rice, and the two high- 
est classes in college. Professor Sewall gave a similar one last Friday 
evening. At both of these companies I was pleased with seeing the 
great propriety of conduct manifested by all present — cheerful, but none 
vain or trifling. Our president is remarkable for a vast fund of anec- 
dotes and instructive stories, as well as for ease of communication. He 
interests a company, while he amuses, he does not fail to instruct them. 

Sabbath evening, March 28. This evening have attended a prayer 
meeting in college, at which there was more than usual animation. 
Eight brethren prayed, besides other appropriate exercises, in one hour. 
Such meetings afford a relief from the tedium of dry abstract studies, 
giving a tone to my mind during several days. I do not consider time 
wasted, though three or four times a week 1 turn aside, with my dear 
brethren, to call for God's blessing upon my fellow-students, as well as 
the whole family of man. Shall I ever be fit for a missionary ? 

April 4. Yesterday (Saturday) set off for a trip on foot with 
Brother Ballard. At half past two P. M. we arrived at Montgomery 
Court House, fifteen miles distant. Tarried two or three hours. Re- 
turning, reached Washington at nine in the evening — a comfortable 
walk of thirty miles. 

April 13. Attended an adjourned meeting of the " Sunday School 
Union of the District of Columbia." Had the honor of being elected 
vice-president of that body for the Baptist denomination in the Dis- 
trict. The report from the schools was highly interesting and encour- 
aging. 

April 22. Been reading " Cowper's Private Correspondence," 
edited by his kinsman John Johnson, LL. D. They are, as a whole, 
the best examples of easy familiar letter writing that I have seen. His 
afflictions, arising from severe nervous affections, and consequent de- 



A BUSY LIFE. 39 

pression of mind, very strongly remind me of my own troubles. A good 
man, and, doubtless, a real Christian, but for many years his mind was 
clouded with melancholy. 

May 19. Preached last Sabbath for Mr. Brown, in the city. Text 
Gal. iv. 15, first clause. My principal object in preaching from this 
text was to point out some of the causes of the alarming declension of 
religion in this place. To me the season was solemn and affecting ; the 
effect upon others I know not. The subject opened upon me in a man- 
ner almost surprising, filling my soul and mouth with arguments of 
which I had not before thought. God was with me of a truth, and the 
favor demands my gratitude. The religion of my Redeemer has, for 
eight or ten days, seemed more precious and divine than ever. 

The extracts thus given cover the academic year of study. 
We seem to be with the busy college student. He is not a 
monkish recluse, but finds time to gather improvement not 
only from books, but from intercourse with others, from attend- 
ance on the debates in Congress, and from the displays of 
forensic eloquence which he witnessed in the rooms of the 
United States Court, holding its sessions in Washington. 
He is brought in contact with public men, and acquires that 
urbanity and polish of manners which marked him through life 
as the true Christian gentleman. Although but a junior in col- 
lege, he is honored by being elected vice-president of the Sun- 
day School Union of the District of Columbia. It is evident 
that, even at this comparatively early period in his life, he is 
becoming known and. respected as a man of marked ability, 
and destined, if God spares his life, to exert an important part 
in the promotion of the Redeemer's kingdom. 



40 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 



CHAPTER III. 

Visit to New Hampshire. — Last Year in College. — Reception 
op General Lapayette. — Journal. . 

1824-1825. 

The hard intellectual work of the academic year having 
been accomplished, the heart of the toiler in the fields of 
knowledge turns with longing towards his eastern home. It 
is interesting, as throwing light on the modes and speed of 
locomotion in those days, to trace his progress from day to 
day, as he travelled towards his New Hampshire home. 

June 4, Newport, N. H. Through the kindness of a merciful Prov- 
idence have arrived safely at my mother's house. Left Washington 
the 27th, with Dr. Sewall and family. Reached Baltimore at four in 
the evening. Left for Philadelphia at five, arriving there at ten o'clock 
the next day. Called on Deacon Bradley, and visited Peale's Museum. 
Reached Trenton, N. J., the next day at four, where we took stage for 
New Brunswick, there remaining over night. On Saturday, morning 
we set out in the steamboat for New York, arriving at ten and a half. 
Called on Rev. Mr. Sommers, Mrs. Talmadge, and Mrs. Cauldwell. 
At three P. M. left New York in steamboat Pulton, for Providence, 
R. L, which place we reached Sunday evening at five o'clock. Made 
no tarry, but rode half way up to Boston, which city we entered the next 
morning at nine. Called on several friends. Met with Brother Alonzo 
King, from Waterville, Brother George D. Boardman, from Andover, 
Brother Going, from Worcester, and Brother Boswell, from Middle- 
town, Conn. Monday night spent with Rev. Mr. Elliott, of Roxbury. 
Tuesday night staid with Dr. Baldwin, and the next morning took the 
stage for home. Stopped on the way one day. My health is consider- 
ably improved now. I desire to be very grateful to my heavenly 
Father for his protecting kindness. 

Monday morning, June 7. Preached yesterday afternoon for Mr. 
Person, in the First Baptist Church ; text, Isa. lxv. 17. A pleasant sea- 



JOURNAL. 41 

son. Much satisfaction in meeting my friends, who all greet me with 
cordiality. I hope to be able, while here, to keep myself unspotted 
from the reigning follies and vices ; to exhibit the example of a sincere, 
warm Christian. 

June 14. Just returned from Windsor. Heard two excellent dis- 
courses from Mr. Elton [the late Eev. Dr. Elton]. Some changes 
have taken place. Mr. Howard's absence almost destroys the pleasure 
of a visit to W. 

June 16. Another birthday. As has been customary, I would 
make some reflections if I had any worth the record. It is difficult to 
realize that twenty-three years have passed over my head. I see but 
little improvement in the past. May the next year witness much 
more. 

June 26. Perhaps no -person sympathizes with the seasons more 
than myself: My animal feelings are greatly affected by the weather. 
When clear and serene, my mind is free and spirits buoyant. If cloudy 
and damp, my spirits are low. 

July 12. Yesterday preached for Mr. Person, from the words of 
Moses to Israel concerning Joshua — Deut. i. 38, " Encourage him." 
My object was to point out the duty of a church to a pastor. My mind 
was tolerably clear, and I enjoyed a good season, though under the 
necessity of preaching some truths which, I apprehend, were unpalatable. 
Nevertheless I was strengthened and enabled to declare what I conceive 
to be scriptural truth. I like to feel an independence where I have no 
compromise to make, no favors to solicit, but, without any obstruction, 
can come forward and plainly publish the " whole counsel of God." 

July 24. A fine rain. Have been working three days with the 
haymakers. My health would be far better were I to labor on a farm. 
Had I not the conviction that another course of life is real duty, I should 
certainly of choice return to the farm. But my Maker and Redeemer 
has other work for me to do, and to his service my powers of body and 
mind are humbly consecrated. I have no wish to forsake the work 
assigned me by the Bishop of souls. 

Saturday evening, August 21. This week Wednesday attended the 
Commencement at Dartmouth. Hardly equal to what I expected. Met 
several friends, among them Mr. J. P. Skinner, with whom I returned 
to Windsor to say good by to friends there. Returning to Newport 
with my friend E. L. S., who is on her way to school at Concord, N. H. 

Thus in pleasant social intercourse with his friends and in 
active out-door exercise, he passed his vacation, and with 
renewed strength returned to his college duties. It is his 
last year in a spot which has become very dear to him. It 



42 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

may be questioned if it is wise for students generally to at- 
tempt to do so much work outside the course of study pre- 
scribed by the regulations of the college. His was evidently 
an exceptional case. His mind had been so well disciplined, 
that he carried along with ease his usual studies. The con- 
scientiousness which was so marked a feature of his character 
would not allow him to neglect any known duty. If, there- 
fore, we find him making addresses on a subject which has 
already awakened his warmest sympathy, — the subject of 
foreign missions, — if he does the work of an editor, if he de- 
livers an oration on the fourth of July, and preaches as oc- 
casion offers, we may be sure that he does none of these 
things at the expense of any other claims which rightfully 
demand his attention. The account which he gives of the 
reception of General Lafayette, in Washington, is very 
graphic, and cannot fail to interest the reader. As usual, 
he mingles moral reflections with his descriptions. 

September 2, 1824. (College Hill, D. C.) To leave my beloved 
mother, brothers, and sisters was severely painful; but I cheerfully 
committed them into the hands of our heavenly Father, who has hither- 
to protected them and me. Also feel heartily grateful to a kind Provi- 
dence which has preserved me, restored my health, and safely returned 
me to engage in the duties of collegiate life. 

September 4. " Thoughts of home rush on my excited nerves." 
My kind mother deserves all the affection and attention I can bestow. 
Never could I desire more affection than has been demonstrated the 
past summer. I love them all — may I never love them less. My late 
visit has greatly endeared to me my home and New England. 

September 7. Attended monthly concert for prayer at St. John's, 
in the city. Addressed the congregation on the subject of missions. 

gave a brief narrative of the labors and success of the London 

Society's missionaries in the South Seas. In relation to that interesting 
mission, it may triumphantly be said, " What hath God wrought? " 

Monday, September 27. Fifteen years ago to-day my father re- 
moved his family from Croyden to Newport — well do I recollect the 
day, with many of its occurrences. During my late visit to New Hamp- 
shire, I visited the old place where I was born and received the first 
rudiments of my education, which I am now endeavoring to mature and 
make profitable to myself and others. If I mistake not, my desire to be 



JOURNAL. 43 

useful increases. I feel more anxious to render some service to the 
cause of Christianity. I need grace and humility. 

Tuesday, October 12. Mingled with the crowd of thousands to-day 
in welcoming our distinguished guest and national benefactor, General 
Lafayette, recently from France. An attempt to make a great show, 
and an almost total failure. The general arrived about one P. M., whea 
he was received under the tent of General Washington. The mayor of 
the city read an address to him, to which. he replied extempore. Here 
were a confused mass of black and white huddled together in Capitol 
Square. After a salute of twenty-four guns, awkwardly fired, the pro- 
cession of ill-appearing military marched through clouds of dust from 
the Capitol to the president's house, where he was received by Mr. 
Monroe ; then passed on to Gadsby's Hotel. There was nothing grand 
or magnificent in the display, tbough an attempt at both. It pains me 
to see my fellow-citizens departing so rapidly from republican sim- 
plicity. If I mistake not, the general will despise many of the pro- 
ceedings in Washington. 

November 21. Professor Chase arrived in the city yesterday, after 
fifteen months' absence in Europe. Good man. I rejoice at his return. 
His counsel and example are much needed among us. 

Sabbath, November 28. Heard this morning Rev. Eustace Carey 
preach an excellent discourse from Heb. xiii. 12-14. Just arrived 
from Calcutta, where he has for many years been a devoted, laborious 
missionary (English Baptist). He is a nephew of the learned, pious 
William Carey, D. D., of Serampore. An affectionate mildness and soft- 
ness characterized his whole manner, but in faithfulness did he preach 
the pure, humiliating doctrines of the cross. Seldom have I heard a 
richer discourse. 

December 3. Just finished my oration for Commencement. As the 
graduating class is small, only three, — J. D. Knowles, Alexander 
Ewell, and Albert Fairfax, — the faculty have been pleased to appoint, to 
take part in the exercises, two from the Junior class, Thomas D. Eliot 
and myself, and two from the Sophomore class, John Boulware and John 
W. James. This is the first Commencement of Columbian College. We 
hope neither to disgrace ourselves nor the institution, rather so to suc- 
ceed as to honor both. In all things may I have the honor of my 
Redeemer and the best interests of his church at heart. 

Friday, December 10. Passed the day in the city. Witnessed the 
reception of General Lafayette in the House of Representatives. The 
scene was noble and august, sublime and affecting, beyond description. 
He was addressed by the speaker, Henry Clay, in that style of imposing 
eloquence for which he is so justly distinguished. The general replied 
in a manner and style calculated to excite some of the most generous 



44 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

and grateful emotions of the heart. The whole scene was affecting — 
many eyes were suffused with tears at the recollection of the services 
and voluntary sacrifices of the hero, patriot, and sage who stood before 
them, and with his benign accents cheered the representatives of twenty- 
four free states to firmness and union in support of their excellent in- 
stitutions. This reception had nothing of exterior pomp or splendor. 
The grandeur and sublimity of the scene consisted altogether in the 
associations awakened. The house was crowded above and below — 
all, in breathless silence, listening to the unanimous expression of grate- 
ful feeling as delivered by the speaker on behalf of ten millions of free, 
enlightened people, and the responsive expressions of affectionate at- 
tachment as they fell from the lips of Lafayette. The whole- was a gush 
of grateful feeling — a glow of liberal sentiment. 

Monday, February 14, 1825. Commenced my studies. This term 
I have for a room-mate a young man who is not pious. I pray to be 
faithful to him. 

February 27. Been reading the journal of Rev. Joseph Wolf, 
missionary to Palestine. He was born near Bamberg, in Bavaria, of 
Jewish parents, in 1796. His father was a Rabbi. At seventeen years 
of age he professed Christianity, and soon began studying for the 
ministry. After spending some time in the Propaganda at Rome, he 
was dismissed on account of his opposition to Papal authority. Soon 
after he went to England (1819), he entered the Missionary Seminary 
at Hampstead Park, and in 1821 set out for Palestine. His journal 
breathes the spirit of a true missionary, devoted to God. He is now but 
twenty-nine years of age, but has done more to bring the missionary 
cause into notice and reputation there than any other living man. 

March I, Tuesday. Heard Dr. Staughton, Sabbath. In the evening 
attended the Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Tract Society. Re- 
ports read, and addresses made by several members, and officers chosen. 

March 4. This day John Q. Adams is inaugurated President of the 
United States, and John C. Calhoun Vice-President. The oath of office 
was administered to the former by Chief Justice Marshall, to the latter 
by General Jackson. Crowds were disappointed in not being able to 
witness the ceremonies. How strongly do such multitudes remind one 
of that day when all the universe shall be gathered before the bar of 
God! 

March 7. Heard Dr. Laurie in the morning, Brother Newborn in 
the afternoon, and a stranger at Mcllvaine's in the evening. I must 
cease wandering from place to place. It begets unsettled, unsteady 
habits, and prevents the exercise of spiritual feelings. I find more 
enjoyjnent by attending some regular church. I must be more steady, 
and confine myself to the church to which I belong. May God enable 



JOURNAL. 45 

me to keep these resolutions. If a man would grow in grace, I am 
sensible he will not be assisted in that growth by indulging in a vain 
curiosity, rambling from church to church, from preacher to preacher. 

March 17. Last evening I was elected as orator for the college on 
fourth of July next. My mind for the, past four days has been seriously 
excited to earnest supplication for the salvation of my dear room-mate. 

April 7. Yesterday I went early to the city collecting scholars to 
the Sabbath school ; succeeded well, but the ignorance and wretchedness 
of the blacks at Washington is beyond deseription. 

April 11. A few weeks since a friend of mine, Mr. J. P. Fenner, 
commenced a school on Sabbath afternoon exclusively for blacks ; he is 
a pious, zealous man, and I trust will do them much good. In the 
school at Brother Brown's we have seventy-two scholars ; the prospect 
is good for the number reaching one hundred next Sabbath. Brother 
Rice preached in the morning, and pleaded earnestly in behalf of Sabbath 
schools. At three o'clock Mr. Brown went into the baptismal waters 
with three. As many as two thousand gathered at the river-side to wit- 
ness the ceremony. On our return we sat down to the Lord's Supper, 
and a precious hour it was to my soul. I had some glimpses of my 
Saviour's face, some tokens of his love. 

Monday morning, April 18. Spent the morning searching for chil- 
dren to attend Sunday school. Found a young man preaching in the 
suburbs to these very poor, wretched creatures. My heart burns within 
me to be employed in the same work — preaching the gospel to the 
poor, ignorant, and vicious. In the afternoon I assisted my dear friend, 
Mr. Fenner, in his school of colored people, established in his own 
house. There are eighty children and adults. 

Sabbath evening. In the morning attended Sunday school. Our 
numbers are steadily increasing. Instead of four we have twenty-four 
teachers, and from twenty-five, our scholars number one hundred and 
nineteen. In the afternoon the schools of the Union met at Dr. Balch's, 
Georgetown, when we had various religious exercises. I read the re- 
port. Dr. Staughton preached from these words: "Be not weary in 
well doing." Rev. Mr. Bedell, of Philadelphia, made an address, and 
Rev. Mr. Hawley addressed the children particularly. 

May 28. The present is a time when I need health and strength. 
Studies, preparation for fourth of July oration, duties in Sunday schools, 
and matters of the Baptist General Tract Society make requisitions. The 
Lord has thus far given me grace and strength. I feel that I indulge too 
much a worldly spirit. I have too much pride and vain-glory. What 
grieves me most is, that I frequently indulge them without remorse. I 
desire constantly an increase of holiness. 

June 9. Last evening had some sweet conversation with a pious stu- 



I 

46 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

dent, Brother Kobert Ryland, about experimental religion, and about 
preaching. He thinks he must preach, and I think so too. How de- 
lightful it was to converse about Christ and heaven ! 

June 16, 1825. Another birthday ! I hardly dare review the scenes 
of the past year. The mercies of my God have been so many, and my 
ingratitude so great, I meet reproof at every step. 

June 20. Heard Brother Caswell in the morning, from Matt. x. 
32 and 33. In the afternoon attended and addressed Mr. Fenner's 
colored school. At night heard Brother George D. Boardman, a mis- 
sionary designated for Burmah. He appears a person of sound, dis- 
criminating mind, and sterling piety. Last summer, when in Boston, I 
had considerable conversation with him in relation to my own impres- 
sions concerning my duty to become a missionary. He had learned 
from dear Brother King, of Waterville, that I sometimes thought it to 
be my calling ; but I apprehend he did not feel satisfied that I possessed 
much ardor for the good work, for since he came here he has not hinted 
to me a syllable on the subject. Many circumstances combine now to 
produce the belief that I am not called to be a missionary, at least in a 
foreign field. If I know my own heart, I am willing to go anywhere, 
at any time, at the command of my Lord. 

June 22. This evening parted with Brother Boardman. He is soon 
to sail for Burmah. He is a good man, full of the Holy Ghost. May 
the Lord go with him, and crown his labors with success. 

July 4. The hour is passed for which I have been so long prepar- 
ing. The day has been exceedingly fine, and we had a large, respec- 
table audience. After the reading of the Declaration of Independence 
by one of the Juniors, I pronounced my oration, an hour in length. I 
have abundant reason to be grateful for the goodness of God to me to- 
day. 

July 5. In compliance with a request from the two societies, I 
have just given to the committee of arrangements a copy of my 
oration. 

Soon after the delivery of his oration, he returned to his 
home in New Hampshire. He makes the following record of 
the visit, and the incidents attending it : — 

Newport, N. H., July 24. Preached for Mr. Person. Must begin 
to think of doing something for the Baptist General Tract Society. 

August 3. Returned from Springfield, Vt., where I went Saturday to 
visit Brother Ely. The Lord has been doing wonders there in the con- 
version of sinners. About eighty have given evidence of a change of 
heart ; forty-three have been baptized by Brother Ely. It was a little 
heaven on earth. They are much engaged in the cause of their Re- 
deemer. 



JOUENAL. 47 

Sabbath, August 7. Heard the Rev. Ariel Kendrick this morning, 
from Jonah ii. 7. He is still the same humble, devout, and able divine. 
He is one of the fathers of this association (Woodstock), and has borne 
much of the burden and heat of the day. His labors at times have 
been very greatly blessed, although he has had little advantages of edu- 
cation. He will meet many in heaven who have been saved through 
the means of his faithful preaching. The satisfaction of doing good to 
the souls of men is far superior to that of possessing much knowledge. 
" Knowledge often puffeth up, but charity edifieth." 

Newport, August 8. Heard the Rev. Mr. Frey, a converted Jew, 
preach in the South Meeting-house, from these words : " Is there no 
balm in Gilead " ? It was a very elegant and eloquent discourse. His 
representations of the degraded condition of the Jews, and the difficul- 
ties which lie in the way of their conversion to Christianity, were truly 
affecting. A collection of twenty-eight dollars was taken, and a society 
of sixty-four members formed, auxiliary to the "American Society for 
the Amelioration of the Condition of the Jews," in which he is deeply in- 
terested, and for which he pleads with a becoming zeal. A settlement 
of Jews has already commenced in West Chester, N. Y. To this place 
Jews are received by recommendation of Count Von der Reche, in 
Germany, who employs them for a season before they emigrate. His 
object is one of the best, and merits the prayers and liberal contribu- 
tions of Christians. 

August 15. My friend and classmate, R. W. Cushman, writes me 
to come and preach in his place, on Fort Hill, during his absence on a 
short trip into Maine. I have, besides, some wish to pass a few days in 
the city of Boston, to attend Harvard Commencement, as also the Com- 
mencement of Brown, at Providence. My friend Knowles is solicitous 
to see me at Providence, and I quite as anxious to see him, esteeming 
myself unfortunate to be deprived of his society and judicious counsel. 
Boston. Made my home at Dr. Baldwin's, where Brother Knowles 
met me on Tuesday, and remained with me until Thursday. Heard 
him preach for Mr. Sharp. Brother Cushman started Tuesday for 
Bath, Me., Dr. Baldwin and wife for Waterville. Passed part of the 
day with my friend T. D. Eliot, a classmate from Washington. Wednes- 
day attended examination of the public schools, dined with the mayor, 
aldermen, &c, and about four hundred citizens, at Faneuil Hall." 
Preached in the evening at Charlestown for Brother Jackson, from Isaiah 
lxv. 17. On my refeurn to Boston, found Professor Chase, who had re- 
signed his professorship in the Columbian College. The intelligence, 
though anticipated, gave me pain. It seriously affects my plans. I did 
not think he would so soon abandon his post ; but he is a good man, and 
doubtless has done all things well. It would be difficult to persuade me 
that he has done anything rashly or indiscreetly. 



48 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

Boston, September 2. Dr. Baldwin is no more ! He died sudden- 
ly last Monday night, August 29, at Waterville, Me. His remains ar- 
rived to-day, via Portland, by steamboat. He was a good man, and 
thousands will deplore his loss. 

College Hill, September 14, 1825. On my return trip, remained 
several days at Providence, with my dear friend K. Attended the Com- 
mencement exercises, which were fair; also went to the celebration 
of the Federal Adelphi. The oration by T. Kinnicutt, Esq., of Seekonk, 
was very good ; the poem, by Benjamin F. Hallett, witty and amusing. 
By steamboat I came to New York, from there to Philadelphia to spend 
the Sabbath, then safely on to Washington. Here again I will make 
mention of the loving kindness and tender watch-care of my heavenly 
Father. I have visited my loved ones, and once more received their 
benediction, formed new, interesting acquaintances, and been treated by 
all with great kindness. May I now have grace to pursue my studies 
with ardor and profit. 



LEAVES COLLEGE. 49 



CHAPTER IV. 

Anxieties about the Future. — Graduation. — Editor op the 
Columbian Star. — Life in Washington. — Marriage. — 
Eeminiscences by President Caswell. 

1825-1827. 

In the preceding chapter we have made copious extracts 
from the diary of Mr. Stow. We have deemed it wise to 
bring to the notice of our readers the varied influences which 
developed and gave shape to his character in this formative 
period of his life. We see him engaged in his college duties. 
As he passes down the gentle declivity by which the city is 
reached, we walk by his side. We go to the Capitol, and 
imagine the effect produced on his mind as he listens to the 
debates in Congress, or the able pleas which are made at the 
bar of the United States Court. It is pleasant to follow him 
in his preaching tours in Virginia, and we can readily believe 
that, for a young man, his preaching must have been of a high 
order. Mr. Stow took part in the exercises of the first Com- 
mencement at Washington, in December, 1824, and, by antic- 
ipating some of his studies, was able to graduate in Decem- 
ber, 1825, having been a member of college a little over three 
years. Several months before his graduation, the attention 
of the college authorities was turned to him as a suitable per- 
son to receive the appointment of tutor. Correspondence 
had been carried on with him with reference to other impor- 
tant posts of labor, and he was now passing through an expe- 
rience which is often so full of anxiety to the young man 
completing his collegiate studies, and the solemn question of 
life's responsibilities presses itself upon his serious attention. 
With great sincerity, and a profound conviction of his depen- 
4 



50 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

dence on God, he committed the whole matter to the direction 
of his ever-gracious Lord and Friend. 

September 23. Health unusually good. Propositions have been made 
to me to remain after I graduate in December, as a tutor. Also have 
had a request to assume the charge of an academy in South Carolina. 
Something has been said to me also about preaching to a church in New 
Hampshire. I need direction, as I must decide soon. Lord, what is 
duty ? What course shall I take ? Since Brother Knowles left, I have 
no friend to consult with. Perhaps it is well, that I may go to 
God. 

September 27. Still in a state of suspense as to the course I shall 
pursue after I finish my studies. The world furnishes for me but few at- 
tractions. I desire to live, that by living I may glorify God. Lead me 
to Greenland or Patagonia, to California or Japan, it matters but little, 
if I do what is pleasing to my heavenly Father. 

October 7, 1825. Rose at three o'clock this morning to look at Jupi- 
ter and Venus — now a little past conjunction. By means of a three-feet 
telescope I had a good view of them, as well as of the moon, now in her 
last quarter. Jupiter seen very distinctly in Leo. I hope to see them 
again to-morrow morning, in order to make some more accurate obser- 
vations. Have for two nights been observing Encke's comet, visible 
after eight o'clock P. M. ; now visible in the neck of Cetus. I find a 
taste for natural sciences increase as I advance. There is something 
agreeable in discovering and investigating physical phenomena. But I 
would not let such a taste overcome or displace a taste for studies more 
suited to my calling. Perhaps, however, divine Providence is opening 
the way for me to turn my attention more to science, in order that I may 
be qualified for a place in some public institution. Circumstances seem 
to indicate at present that it is not my duty to enter immediately on the 
ministry, but pursue my studies farther. O for divine direction ! The 
path of duty is the only path in which I desire to walk. 

October 11. Read Duncan, On Creeds and Confessions. His sub- 
ject now seems to be agitating the Presbyterian churches to a fearful 
extent. Severe language is used on both sides. Duncan writes like a 
bold, fearless Christian, who has great reverence for the Word of God, 
who earnestly loves the truth ; in the main, very evangelical. 

October 18. Attended Sabbath schools as usual. My faith is not 
in lively exercise. My hopes are weak ; prayer too much like talk. 
O God, give me the light of life ! Impress my heart more deeply with 
a sense of thy great goodness. May I be more humble, more thankful, 
more prayerful, and have the awful things of eternity resting more 
weightily upon my soul's recollection. I a Christian ? I a minister of 



JOURNAL. 51 

Christ? — so cold, so dull, so indifferent to the interests of my own im- 
mortal soul, and the souls of those around me ! 

October 20. How powerful is association ! sometimes contributing 
to our pleasure, sometimes producing painful emotions. Rogers has 
sung the Pleasures of Memory, Merry the Pains of Memory. I 
have many of both. I see little in my own life upon which I can reflect 
with satisfaction. I see too much sin in all I have said, and thought, 
and done, to be much pleased with myself. Yet, in tracing the opera- 
tions of divine Providence in relation to myself, and the influence they 
have had upon my course of life, &c, I meditate with great pleasure. 
God has led me in a way I apprehended not. I have been successful 
in my plans and wishes beyond my highest hopes. I desire to cherish 
constantly towards him a heart full of earnest and devout gratitude. 

November 1. Am for the present the editor of the Columbian 
Star — an arduous undertaking, with my other duties. Assist Professor 
Ruggles in his philosophical lectures. 

November 7. The Senior class has this day been dismissed, and 
the parts assigned for Commencement. I have received the first honor 
— the Valedictory ; Thomas Dawes Eliot has the second — the Salutatory 
Address. This is not as I anticipated, although, as I believe, all my 
friends expected and wished it. Let me be grateful to Heaven. 

December 1. As a family we shall soon be dispersed, at least more 
so than now. My sister J. is to be married. I feel very solicitous to 
know what my dear mother will do. She has for some time engaged 
more than a usual share of my sympathy. All in my power shall be 
done to render her declining years peaceful and happy. She has en- 
dured much toil and self-denial in order to release me, so that I might 
obtain an education. I am now under most solemn obligations to return 
the kindness fourfold. May God help me so to do. 

December 7. Exceedingly occupied in arranging matters for the 
Star, and preparations for Commencement. Have decided to go to 
New England after Commencement, in consequence of an invitation 
from the Second Baptist Church in Salem. I hardly think it my duty 
to become pastor of a church immediately, but am solicitous to enjoy 
the advantages of the Theological Seminary at Newton, Mass., in which 
Professor Chase is teacher of biblical theology. How or where the 
Lord may direct my steps, I know not. To him I commend myself. 

December 18, 1825 (Sabbath). This day bade adieu to the Sabbath 
school in Brother Brown's church, of which I have for some time been 
secretary and manager. It was very trying to my feelings. I did not 
know I was half so much attached as I am to teachers and pupils. May 
God in mercy bless them all. 
December 21. Commencement passed. I rejoice, for I am ex- 



52 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

ceedingly weary. We have had a beautiful day, and the house was 
crowded. 

Order of Exercises. — 1. Salutatory in Latin, with English Ora- 
tion, on the Causes of the Paucity of splendid Productions of American 
Genius in Poetry, Sculpture, and Painting, by Thomas D.Eliot, D. C. 
2. Pernicious Effects of Imitation on our Literature, by John Arm- 
strong, Penn. Music. 3. Eulogy on Alexander Hamilton, by John 
Brewer, Maryland. 4. The Eeudal System contrasted with the Constitu- 
tion of the Federal States, by William A. Smallwood, D. C. Music. 
5. Instability of Civil Institutions, by James Jones, D. C. 6. Influence 
of Metaphysical Speculation on Character, by Robert W. Cushman, Mas- 
sachusetts. 7. The Elevation which Mind appears destined to reach, by 
Baron Stow, New Hampshire, an Oration, with valedictory addresses. 
The president of the United States, the vice-president and secretaries, 
were present, as well as some members of Congress, besides a large 
number of other distinguished individuals. 

I have now completed my collegiate course. But what little gratitude 
do I feel to that kind Being who has preserved me amidst all my toils 
and anxieties. I have suffered considerably from ill health, but at no 
period of life was it better than now. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
may I now think more earnestly of entering his vineyard, and devoting 
myself, soul and body, and all, to him. 

" Lord, I am thine ; but thou wilt prove 
My faith, my patience, and my love." 

Wednesday evening, December 28. Attended the president's drawing- 
room. A large gathering of ladies and gentlemen of distinction pres- 
ent. Was introduced to the president and his lady by Colonel Richard 
M. Johnson, senator from Kentucky. His brother introduced me to 
the vice-president, also to Mr. Webster. Received a number of flatter- 
ing compliments from Mr. Webster and Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Bartlett 
(New Hampshire), Mr. Seymour and Mr. Chase (Vermont). Remained 
about an hour, and then retired, pleased with having formed new acquaint- 
ances. I have no solicitude to be present at another such occasion. 
Godliness does not grow there. I should not have attended but for the 
curiosity to see in what the scene consists ; probably it is the only op- 
portunity I shall ever have. Eor happiness, I should much rather go 
and visit a humble Christian in his cottage, though in the midst of 
poverty. " The friendship of the world is enmity against God." 

December 31, 1825. This day closes the year, and is the anni- 
versary of my baptism. Seven years ago about this hour (12 M.), I 
went down into the water for baptism. That was a happy day. Now I 
am in a different state of mind, distracted by care and anxieties. What 
is my duty ? O, let me with my whole soul commit my ways unto the 



EDITORIAL WORK. 53 

Lord, that he may direct my paths. I wish to do duty — that is my 
only desire concerning my future course of action. My present de- 
cision will give a coloring to every act of my future life. " Lord, be 
thou my guide." 

The reader has thus followed the subject of the Memoir 
through his college life. We feel that there has been a con- 
stant growth in his intellectual and religious life during his 
residence in Washington. He possesses and exhibits manly 
traits of character. Occasionally a little morbid, perhaj)s, in 
his feelings, and predisposed to a pensiveness which may, 
without difficulty, be explained, we find the whole man de- 
veloping and ripening into maturity, and we predict for him 
a bright and successful future. He acknowledged God in 
all his ways, and He directed his paths. Nothing can be 
plainer than the hand of his Father leading him, and his 
right hand upholding him. 

During the latter part of his collegiate course, Mr. Stow 
had acted as editor of the Columbian Star, the organ of the 
Triennial Convention. He had found the work so far con- 
genial with his literary tastes, that after his graduation he 
was willing to continue his editorial work, to the best of his 
ability. Providence seems to decide that he shall remain in 
Washington, at least for the present. As usual, he is crowded 
with work in these days of his early manhood, exhibiting that 
marvellous facility for writing for which he was always dis- 
tinguished, and that graceful use of the pen, which, on so 
many important occasions, made his services so acceptable. 
He finds time, amid his multifarious duties, to visit the halls 
of Congress. We can imagine what an effect must have 
been produced on a man of his fine taste and exquisite sensi- 
bilities by the splendid eloquence of Edward Everett, and do 
not wonder when we find him using terms of the warmest 
admiration as he gives expression to his feelings after listen- 
ing to one of his matchless efforts. 

Washington, January 19, 1826. Some probability I may remain 
here a year or two, at least, as editor of the Columbian Star. Four 
weeks ago I expected to be in New England before tbis date. Provi- 



54 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

dence seems to order my footsteps otherwise. I wish to pursue the 
right course, and my prayer to God is, that I may he directed by him in 
all things. I need more piety, more humility, more confidence in God. 
Lord, grant me all I need. 

Monday, January 30. Took my place yesterday in the Sunday 
school. The pain I felt in parting with it, when I expected to leave the 
city, was more than counterbalanced by the pleasure of returning. It- 
is a good cause, and one in which I feel a deep interest. 

January 30. The souls of my pupils, I thank God, appear to me 
very valuable, and I desire to be useful to them in turning their feet into 
the path of peace. I esteem it the most effectual method which human 
benevolence has adopted of producing real benefit to society. 

Saturday, March 4. Had some enjoyment this morning in reading 
the word of God, and in prayer. Who that knows the worth of this 
high privilege does not wish to be often at a throne of grace ? It is of 
more value to the peace of my soul than all the wealth of the Indies. 
Without it I cannot grow in grace ; without it I am unhappy. Yet how 
much do I neglect it ! Surprising, humbling thought, that when I know 
its worth, I am not more constantly and devotedly engaged in it ! How 
should a sense of my negligence depress me in the dust of lowest hu- 
miliation and penitence ! 

March 9. Had the pleasure of hearing Hon. Mr. Everett speak to- 
day in the House of Representatives. Cannot describe the emotions I 
had. His eloquence was overpowering. His diction is chaste and ele- 
gant, his voice clear and distinct, and his gesticulation forcible. The 
galleries were thronged with anxious and delighted spectators. Such 
bursts of real oratory I never witnessed in any place. In the evening 
heard Captain Symmes explain his theory of a concave earth. What a 
burlesque on science ! 

Marcli 30. Since writing the above, been confined to my bed with 
pulmonary fever. Am very feeble, but my spirits are excellent. I have 
considerable religious enjoyment. The Lord is kind and merciful in 
all my afflictions. 

April 6. Raised from a bed of sickness and pain, how thankful 
should I be, how engaged for my Redeemer ! I am a monument of 
divine compassion and forbearance — so often brought to the border- 
land, and so often restored ! Where shall I find language to declare the 
loving-kindness of God? I am lost in confusion and amazement! 
Lord, wake up the fires of pure religion in my torpid bosom, and seal 
me thine forever. 

May 14, Sabbath. Three weeks ago I went to New York to attend 
the triennial session of the Baptist General Convention. Was kindly 
received and entertained by Mr. Thomas Stokes, 46 Franklin Street. 



JOURNAL. 55 

Among other interesting services, attended the anniversary of the New 
York Sunday School Union, at Castle Garden. Have been elected a 
trustee of Columbian College. 

July 7. News just received of the death of Thomas Jefferson, at 
Monticello, Va., on the 4th instant, aged eighty- three years. 

July 8. The mail brought to-day news of the death of John Adams, 
father of the president. He, too, died on the 4th instant, at Quincy, 
Mass., aged ninety-two years. Affecting coincidence. How mysterious 
are the ways of Providence ! 

Sabbath, July 16. This day has been set apart to religious ser- 
vices in honor of Messrs. Adams and Jefferson. Dr. Staughton preached 
a discourse in the Capitol at the request of the citizens. Text, " Lovely 
and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided." 
2 Sam. i. 23. 

August 3. My duties and vexations multiply. I am now editor of 
the Star, depositary of the Baptist General Tract Society, secretary of 
a board of trustees of Columbian College, secretary of the Sunday School 
Union of the District, a director of the Auxiliary Seaman's Friend Society, 
a member of the committee to investigate the condition of the old Co- 
lumbian office, secretary of Sabbath School No. 1, a member of Colum- 
bian Institute, a member of three standing committees in the board of 
directors of the Baptist General Tract Society. 

August 13. Spent the day in Alexandria very pleasantly. Heard 
Brother Cornelius preach on Christian hope — a very sensible discourse. 
A good man and zealous preacher. 

On the 7th September, 1826, I was married to Miss Elizabeth L. 
Skinner, third daughter of the late Benjamin Skinner, Esq., of Wind- 
sor, Vt. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Christopher Hale, pas- 
tor of the Baptist church in that town. As I have now entered into 
new relations in life, I would devoutly pray that we may both have 
grace to live in the fear of God, and to devote ourselves to him, who 
has been our constant helper. A union which has long been contem- 
plated now has been consummated. May we both so live as to give no 
occasion to either to regret we are thus united. Our obligations and 
responsibilities are solemn. May we never forget or violate them. 

October 1. A pleasant morning. O that my soul could, in full 
harmony with nature, rise in concert to our heavenly King, and praise 
his name for his wonderful works to man ! I have some few emotions 
of joy and satisfaction, while contemplating divine goodness and jus- 
tice. This is a day of rest. May I find it a day of spiritual rest and 
refreshment. 

Saturday, October 29. Heard Rev. Mr. Baker preach from Psalms 
xcv. 7, 8 — a counsel, a caution, and warning. The discourse was touch- 



56 MEMOIR OF DE, STOW. 

ing and solemn. In the afternoon listened to Mr. G. TT. Blagden, a 
young Presbyterian licentiate. Text, Luke xvi. 25. 

January 21, 1827, Sabbath evening. This evening preached from 
Isaiah xxxii. 2. A very comfortable season. How rich and full of con- 
solation is the doctrine of the cross ! It is delightful to preach Jesus, 
and him crucified. The Lord helps his servants who fully and faith- 
fully declare the gospel of his Son. 

March 19. The Lord is pouring out his Spirit upon the Second 
Baptist Church in this city [Washington], of which I am a member. 
Bev. B. H. Xeale is now our pastor. Many seem prostrated with sol- 
emn convictions. My soul longs for God, and the comforts of his grace. 
I am barren as the fig tree in the Scripture. How can I avoid the 
curse ? 

May 5. Just returned from Boston, where I preached several times 
at different places. There is now, in Boston and vicinity, an extraordi- 
nary revival of religion, such as has not been seen there for eighty years. 
The work is silent, but powerful. 

May 26. I have this day discontinued my connection with the Co- 
lumbian Star. Am henceforth to have no further concern in it. My 
resignation as editor was the result of a firm belief that the time had 
arrived for me to engage in the great and good work of preaching the 
gospel. My friends all concur wkh me in the opinion. In a few weeks 
I shall start for Boston. 

His life in Washington had been an exceedingly laborious 
one. At one time during the year 1826, which is now pass- 
ing under review, he was, as he tells us, editor of the Colum- 
bian Star, depositary of the Baptist General Tract Society, 
secretary of the board of trustees of the college, secretary of 
the Sabbath School Union of the District, a director of the 
Auxiliary Seamen's Friend Society, a member of the commit- 
tee to investigate the condition of the old Columbian office, 
secretary of Sabbath School Xo. 1, a member of the Colum- 
bian Institute, a member of three standing committees in the 
board of directors of the Baptist General Tract Society. It 
is clear that his post in Washington was far from being a 
sinecure. He had, moreover, some peculiar trials, growing 
out of his connection with the Columbian Star, and Rev. 
Luther Rice, who had taken so active a part in denomination- 
al affairs. These trials weighed heavily on his S]jirits. And 
yet, although his responsibilities were grave, and his duties 



president caswell's reminiscences. 57 

often exceedingly burdensome, he became warmly attached 
to Washington. Many of the friendships which he had 
formed there he kept up as long as he lived. For the gentle- 
men with whom lie was associated in college he always cher- 
ished the most tender regard. He followed also with great 
interest the fortunes of the public men, whose acquaintance 
he had made at the seat of government. He read their 
speeches, and, as one by one they passed away, if biographies 
were written of them, he was sure to peruse them. His occa- 
sional visits to Washington, in subsequent years, were always 
anticipated with pleasure, and were keenly enjoyed by him. 

The following communication, prepared at the request of 
the editor of this Memoir, will be read with pleasure by the 
numerous friends of Mr. Stow : — 

My dear Dr. Stockbridge : You have kindly requested me to 
give you some reminiscences of our late lamented brother, Dr. Baron 
Stow. You must bear in mind, as I do, that reminiscences running 
back nearly half a century are liable to become dim, and shadowy, 
and uncertain. I will, however, do the best I can to meet your wishes. 

I first met Baron Stow at the Columbian College, in the District of 
Columbia, in the latter part of November, 1822. I repaired to the col- 
lege, at that time under appointment as a tutor, and found him a member 
of the Sophomore class. James D. Knowles, Robert W. Cushman, 
Jonathan Meriam, and others whose praise has been in all the churches, 
were members of the college at the same time. 

Mr. Stow became known to me as a most diligent and successful stu- 
dent, as a grave, exemplary, and most conscientious Christian. With 
some considerable acquaintance with young men professing faith in 
Christ, I had rarely met one, who, in the discharge of his Christian 
duties, so fully exemplified the precept of doing with his might what his 
hand found to do. He suffered then, from time to time, as through his 
whole life, from severe nervous headaches. But it seemed hardly to 
produce any relaxation in his labors. He had no idle hours. He was 
literally a worker in the vineyard of the Lord. He seemed every day 
to feel a great burden of responsibility resting upon him. So devout 
was he, and so intent upon doing the great work which his Master had 
assigned him, that he seemed, far more than most Christian men, to 
walk with God. Hence, though at times cheerful, he was never light 
and frivolous, never in the smallest degree given to that "jesting" 
which tne apostle mentions as " inconvenient." Indeed, the habitual 



58 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

tone of his mind at that time, as I now remember him, was almost too 
serious to enter fully into the enjoyment of that playfulness of wit and 
humor which often give so rich a zest to social intercourse. 

I think Brother Stow had been accustomed to exercise his gifts in 
preaching before he went to Washington. He continued this practice 
during his collegiate course. He was always an acceptable, sometimes 
an impressive preacher, and hence he had frequent invitations to preach 
in Washington and its vicinity. It was often my privilege to attend 
religious services with him, and witness the earnestness with which he 
pleaded with sinners to be reconciled to God. He was accustomed to the 
use of his pen, and composed with facility, and with a maturity of 
thought and style not common to persons of his age. But I think his 
general practice at that time was to preach without written sermons. 
He was aided in this by his ready command of language, and the happy 
faculty of analyzing a subject, and throwing its main points into proper 
perspective, so that the hearer would at once, and without difficulty, 
seize the plan of his discourse, and follow him in his argument and illus- 
trations. I remember to have been present on more than one occasion 
when he was called upon to preach with very little opportunity for 
special preparation, and where he acquitted himself with great advan- 
tage, leaving upon the minds of his hearers a deep and solemn convic- 
tion of their religious responsibility. 

The power of his preaching at this time was not derived from any 
classic finish of style, or any special grace of elocution and delivery, 
but from the profound conviction of his own mind that personal 
religion was a great and solemn reality, and necessary to salvation. I 
might add that the cross of Christ was eminently his theme. 

Brother Stow left Washington, I think, in 1826. I left in 1827. 
Since that time I have often been associated with him in the different 
religious and educational interests of our denomination. To every post 
of duty and labor he brought a sound judgment, an earnest purpose, a 
prayerful and conciliatory spirit. His early activity and zeal fore- 
shadowed the labors and successes of his subsequent life. It is pleas- 
ant to dwell upon the memory of one whose character exhibits so much 
to admire and love, and so little to regret. 

I am yours, in the bonds of Christ, * 

Alexis Caswell. 

47 College Street, November 1, 1870. 



INVITATIONS TO SETTLE. 59 



CHAPTER V. 

Calls to settle in the Ministry. — Accepts the Invitation to 
Portsmouth, N. H. — Ordination. — Journal — Calls to Salem, 
Mass., and Waterville, Me. — Urgent Appeals from President 
Chaplin. 

1827-1830. 

The scene now changes. The same kind hand which thus 
far had led the subject of this Memoir was now directing his 
steps back to New England, where, in two of her cities, he was 
to spend the remainder of his life in the work of the ministry 
of reconciliation. Years had passed since he decided that he 
was called of God to this work. His conceptions of the dignity 
and importance of the pastoral office had been intensified by his 
long reflections upon the magnitude of the interests intrusted 
to the hands of the minister of Jesus. With sincere modesty 
and misgivings, he shrank from entering into the work, much 
as his soul panted to proclaim to men " the unsearchable 
riches of Christ." Two invitations had been sent to him to 
preach as a candidate for settlement as a pastor — one from 
Poughkeepsie, N". Y., and the other from Portsmouth, N". H. 
The prospect of success in either church, in some respects, 
was not very flattering. The church in Portsmouth, which 
had been in existence but a short time, was comparatively 
small in numbers, and in its means was considerably strait- 
ened. Humanly speaking, therefore, the hope of great suc- 
cess was not very bright, and the young minister was fully 
aware that if he became the pastor of the church, he must gird 
himself for hard work, and prepare himself for a severe trial 
of his patience and faith. In reading the record of his feel- 



60 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

ings, we are reminded veiy much of a similar record made by 
Dr. Wayland under like circumstances : " If God should place 
me in any station of responsibility, may he abundantly enrich 
me with every literary and intellectual qualification, but espe- 
cially with the infinitely richer endowments of his Holy 
Spirit, tha't I may be sincere, wise, pure, holy, vigilant, and 
prayerful, and deeply impressed with the value of souls. In 
fine, whatever may be my lot in this world, may I live a life 
of holiness, and be received at last to the place where there 
is no more lukewammess, but where they see as they are 
seen, and know as they are known." It is in the same spirit 
that Mr. Stow turned his face towards his new home. We 
will follow him as he departs from Washington, and becomes 
fairly settled in Portsmouth. 

June 16. I have now an invitation from the Baptist church in 
Portsmouth, N. H., and another from Poughkeepsie, N. Y., to preach 
as candidate for the pastoral office. But O, my utter unfitness for the 
high and responsible vocation ! My only hope is in the God of Jacob. 

Portsmouth, N. H., July 24, 1827. On the 22d June myself and 
companion bade adieu to Washington for the eastward. I had spent 
five years there. I shall count them among the pleasantest of my life. 
On the 23d we reached Philadelphia. Passed the Sabbath with Mrs. 
Wythe (Dr. Staughton's sister). He being there, heard him preach. 
I preached twice — once for Mr. Dagg, at the Sansom Street church, 
once for the brethren in Bank Street, a minority of the Pirst Baptist 
Church. 

Monday we left for Boston, where we were hospitably entertained 
by our dear friend and brother, James D. Knowles, during a stay of 
three weeks. Preached several times for the different churches, and 
at Jullien Hall. 

On Wednesday last, the 18th July, the new house of worship in 
Federal Street, Boston, was dedicated by religious services to the wor- 
ship of Almighty God. Sermon by Mr. Sharp, "Keep thy foot when 
thou goest to the house of God ; " dedicatory prayer by Mr. Grosvenor ; 
recognition and address to the church by Mr. Knowles. Services 
highly interesting and solemn. 

Thursday we came by stage to Portsmouth. The small Baptist 
church here is destitute of a pastor, and have invited me to preach for 
them a few Sabbaths. I pray my labors, however short may be my stay, 
may prove useful. The Baptist cause here is in a low state. An effort 



ACCEPTS THE CALL TO POKTSMOUTH. 61 

is making to raise it and give it dignity. I wish to feel engaged in the 
work before me. My faith is weak, and I have too little of a spirit of 
prayer. Wheresoever God in his Providence may direct my feet I wish 
to go. My desire is to serve him and promote his cause. He has done 
great things for me. I ought to be more grateful. My heart is tod 
insensible to divine goodness. 

Portsmouth, August 29. Have been here six weeks laboring. 
Visited much. Preached four discourses every week. The meetings 
are well attended by those of all denominations. The word is listened 
to with much solemnity, and the desire seems to be unanimous that I 
should stay here. What I shall do I know not. May God direct me 
in the way of duty. 

September 1. Good is the work of the Lord. Peel more and more 
encouraged to labor for the good of souls. Some incidents of recent 
occurrence lead me to believe that we shall yet see a work of grace in 
Portsmouth. 

September 3. This day received from the church and society to 
which I am preaching a unanimous invitation to become their pastor. 
My coming here, under God, seems to have rendered their prospects 
more encouraging. They propose a salary of seven hundred dollars, 
with promise of increase. The meetings are crowded and interesting. 

September 8. Answered the church in the affirmative. In so 
doing have sought divine direction, and, I trust, obtained it. The 
die is cast. I rejoice. My mind is now at rest. In the strength of 
God I hope to go forward. May he make me a blessing to his cause in 
this town. The field here is wide. May I be humble and faithful, and 
may the Lord establish the work of my hands. The immense responsi- 
bility ! " Who is sufficient for these things? " " My grace is sufficient 
for thee." " They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, that 
cannot be removed, but abideth forever." Precious promises these. 



It will be seen, from these extracts, that the new pastor at 
once found favor with the people, and that the seal of the 
divine approbation was put upon his ministry. His elo- 
quence, his piety, his affable, yet dignified bearing, at once 
won for him a place in the affections of his people, and com- 
manded the respect and homage of the community in which 
he had cast his lot. The feeling of discouragement which 
had for some time been creeping over the church, disap- 
peared, and they became assured that, in answer to their 
prayers, a brighter day had begun to dawn on them. The 



62 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

day to which for so many years he had been looking forward 
with so much interest — the day of his ordination — had 
come. How many hearts sympathized with him in the event ! 
With what glad emotions did she, who stood to him in the 
tender relation of mother, welcome the happy day which was 
to see her beloved son publicly set apart as a minister of 
Christ ! For him she had toiled and denied self, and prayed 
unceasingly that the common Lord of both parent and child 
would lead him in the way that should most glorify him. 
The prayers and benedictions of other loved ones followed 
the object of their affections. 

The ordination of Mr. Stow took place on the 24th of 
October, 1827, in the " South Meeting-house." The services 
were as follows : Reading Scriptures, Rev. Mr. Cooke ; 
prayer, Rev. Mr. Houghton ; sermon, Rev. R. Babcock ; or- 
daining prayer, Rev. Mr. Ellis ; charge, Rev. Dr. Bolles ; 
right hand of fellowship, Rev. Mr. Miller ; address to church 
and congregation, Rev. Mr. Davis ; concluding prayer, Rev. 
Mr. Davis. The new pastor, thus solemnly set apart to the 
work of the ministry, writes, " The responsibilities which I 
have assumed seem immense. "Without the grace of God I 
shall certainly fail. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, be thou my constant guide and helper. May I be 
humble, prudent, and faithful." 

From our knowledge of his conscientiousness and his sincere 
love for the duties of the sacred calling, we can readily con- 
ceive with what earnestness he addressed himself to his work, 
and how he longed to " make full proof of" his " ministry." 
With a preparation for the ministry superior to that of most 
ministers in the denomination with which he was connected, 
with an impressive manner and attractive personal appear- 
ance in the pulpit, and by means of that peculiar style of 
chaste eloquence which always made him so acceptable as a 
preacher, he gave evidence at once that he was destined to 
take no ordinary rank as a public speaker. It is true, his con- 
gregation did not embrace the elite of the town, but there 
were enough in it of the class to which his blessed Master 



SUCCESS IN HIS WORK. 63 

loved to proclaim the gospel, and to him the winning of one 
soul to Christ was a matter of such supreme joy and satisfac- 
tion, that in the gladness of his heart he overlooked all social 
distinctions, while he welcomed to his heart the humblest one 
who had been " born of the Spirit." 

On the 4th of November he tells us that he had greatly 
enjoyed the presence of Christ in preaching his word. It was 
on this day that he first administered the sacred rite of bap- 
tism. "Nothing occurred," he remarks, "to interrupt or 
diminish the pleasure of the hour. What infinite satisfaction 
the harbinger of our Lord must have felt as he walked into 
Jordan with his blessed Saviour, and laid him beneath its 
wave ! " We learn incidentally how small the church was at 
this time, from the recorded statement that, on the day when 
this baptism took place, twenty-eight persons commemorated 
the Saviour's dying love. 

Not far from four months had passed since he preached his 
first sermon in the j3lain, unpretending meeting-house of the 
Baptist church in Portsmouth, when he thus writes under 
date of Sabbath, November 11, 1827: — 

To-day have preached four times — three discourses at my own place 
and one at the Almshouse. God strengthened me wonderfully for the 
task. Bless the Lord, O my soul ! Congregation is gradually increas- 
ing ; our prospects of raising a large society are flattering. Sabbath 
evenings our small place of worship is crowded by people of every rank 
and persuasion. A greater variety of characters and belief could not 
well be collected in any place. I find myself in danger of being " lifted 
up " with pride. I have endeavored to examine myself, and to ascertain 
whatf are my motives in preparing and preaching my sermons. I am 
afraid I have too much regard to the praise of men rather than the 
praise of God. My heart is deceitful above all things, and too often 
leads me to forget the God for whom I profess to labor, and to whose 
honor and approbation I ought to have constant regard. O, the pride 
of human nature ! Lord Jesus, divest my heart of a man-pleasing spirit, 
and help me to glory in thy cross. 

Perhaps we cannot do better than to let the toiling, earnest 
minister and pastor tell to us the tale of his hopes and fears, 
his joys and sorrows. Such a rehearsal cannot fail to encour- 



64 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

age the hearts of those who are just entering the ministry, 
and often feel crushed under the burden of responsibility laid 
on them. 

1828. 

January 1, 1828. " Now my days are swifter than a post; they are 
passed away as the swift ships, as the eagle hasteth to the prey." How 
true is this testimony by the godly patriarch of Uz in regard to the 
celerity of time's flight! How quickly has another year passed! and yet 
how momentous have been its transactions, when considered as bearing 
on my eternal interests ! Since the year 1827 commenced, I have passed 
through various changes in my external circumstances. In all I can 
perceive the hand of God so ordering everything as to place me where 
I now am. Preaching seems a duty and delight. Since I left college 
I have prospered in no other vocation. 

January 20. This day I have been " down into the water " with three 
happy converts. The weather was cold, and many thought us madmen 
for presuming to perform the ordinance at such a time. But we suffered 
not the slightest inconvenience. If the cross was great, the joy in tak- 
ing it up was proportionably great. Worldly men have no conception 
of those feelings which prompt the Christian to so much self-denial and 
renunciation of the world. 

July 17. This day concludes the first year of my labors in P. Have 
preached one hundred and seventy-three discourses, one hundred and 
fifty-four of which have been preached to one society. 'Parochial visits 
more than four hundred; officiated at eight funerals; married ten cou- 
ples ; baptized sixteen. The church has increased from twenty-seven 
to fifty-three. The congregation numbered sixty-three July 22, 1827, 
when I preached my first sermon to them. Now it amounts to over 
three hundred. These facts I record simply for recollection, not to 
boast; for, when the providence of God has so evidently done the whole, 
boasting is excluded. 

July 20, Sabbath. Had some enjoyment in preaching my anniver- 
sary sermon. I trust my heart was touched at a view of what God has 
done for me and my people during the year. I desire to be humbled 
that I have done so little for him. My imperfect labors God has been 
pleased to bless. 

August 31. Exchanged this morning with Eev. Israel W. Putnam 
(Congregationalist). What though we may differ on some points not 
essential to salvation, yet may we not retain our own doctrines and prac- 
tice, and at the same time treat each other as friends and brothers? As 
Baptists, we are thought precise and narrow in our views and discipline. 
Yet none are more liberal than we in those offices of kindness and that 



JOURNAL. 65 

interchange of civilities which do not require a relinquishment of prin- 
ciple. Would we were more filled with the spirit of Christ. We should 
thereby furnish to an infidel world a better proof of the excellence of 
Christianity. 

September 24. This day our new house of worship in Middle Street 
was dedicated to Almighty God. The discourse was from Isa. lxvi. 12. 
The season solemn and interesting. May it be crowned by the blessing 
of Heaven. 

1829. 

January 1, 1829. 

" The year rolls round, and steals away 
The breath that first it gave ; 
TVhate'er we do, whate'er we be, 
We're travelling- to the grave." 

Little, too little, alas ! have I done the past year for my blessed Sa- 
viour. Been blessed with unusual health, and have enjoyed an unin- 
terrupted series of blessings from the hand of my heavenly Father. 
Would I had lived better, prayed more, preached with greater fidelity ! 
To-night I address the young. 

January 25. Enjoyed a refreshing season, — preaching from Hosea 
xiii. 9, — especially in the afternoon, when considering the gracious 
offer of restoration, " In me is thine help " did I find peculiar com- 
fort. My soul longs to see a revival of God's work. Two have re- 
cently been seriously affected by the power of truth, and now cherish 
hope, through Christ, of eternal life. The church and society have 
been compelled to struggle with severe difficulties. No effort has been 
omitted to check our growth, and, if possible, to ruin us. But God 
has kindly interposed, has overruled all opposition for his own glory 
and our good. The Lord has promised, " When the enemy comes in 
like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him " 
— and verified it to us. 

August 10. This day commences the fourth year of the existence of 
the church of which I am pastor. Three years ago it was constituted 
of eight members — Rev. Duncan Dunbar, Deacon Samuel Cleaves, 
Elisha C. Crane, Allen Porter, Sampson Sheafe, Christiana Dunbar, of 
Newcastle, Mary Brewster, Susan Parke. A small and feeble band 
truly. Yet God has blessed them beyond measure. They were first 
publicly recognized in an old hall in Vaughan Street called Assembly 
House. Now they have a neat, commodious house of worship, with a 
good, growing congregation. Great harmony of feeling and unity of 
action prevail in the church. There is also an untiring spirit of prayer- 
fulness, which has an excellent effect upon the members, producing en- 
couragement and faith. We trust the Lord is yet on our side, and will 
5 



66 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

appear for our help. I have too little faith, too little confidence, in Him 
whose promise is to "give the increase." 

Eecovering from a severe illness. Have not preached for two Sab- 
baths, and must be deprived of the privilege yet another. My people are 
exceedingly kind, and have exhibited much sympathy. May I be able 
to requite them by faithfulness to souls. 

October 3. Eeading Memoir of Legh Eichmond, by Grimshawe. 
The compiler shows himself too much. A biographer should leave his 
own biography to be executed by another. To me the life is highly in- 
teresting. Legh Eichmond was a man of God, zealous and useful. His 
tracts, The Dairyman's Daughter, The Young Cottager, or Little Jane, 
and the Negro Servant, have been useful beyond a parallel. They are 
read in every quarter of the globe. Mr. Eichmond did not write his 
discourses. 

October 7. First anniversary of the Portsmouth Baptist Association. 
Met at Brentwood. Eeceived a visit from a young lady (M. J.). She 
professes to indulge some confidence that her sins are pardoned ; that 
she is justified before God by the atoning merits of Christ. Had consid- 
erable conversation with her relative to her views of God's character, 
her own heart, the way of her past life, &c, &c. So far as I gained 
evidence that the work is genuine, I rejoiced with her. By this inter- 
view I trust my own heart was quickened. "Awake, O north wind, 
and come, thou south." 

October 13. This morning had some warmth in prayer. God seemed 
near, eternity seemed near. Desired holiness for its own sake. Was 
told yesterday several young people in the congregation are thoughtful. 
Eefreshing news. What do I desire more than to see my dear people 
turning to God ! In my visits from house to house heard everywhere of 
the effect produced by my Sabbath sermons. Perhaps I have never 
preached two discourses that took deeper hold on the assembly. I ob- 
served throughout the assembly, especially in the afternoon, an unusual 
solemnity ; but I was not aware the effect was either so great or general. 
O, my soul, give God the praise ! None but God could thus touch hard 
and stupid hearts. " Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it." 

October 18. This is the last Sabbath in the second year of my pas- 
toral labors. What thoughts does it suggest for my admonition ! How- 
little have I done ! Everything stained with self. What good have I 
done ? What has the Holy Spirit done by me, a poor, remiss, unfaith- 
ful servant? Preached this morning from Phil. iii. 18. Described the 
enemies of the cross, and the causes of their enmity. Lord, enable me 
this afternoon to speak affectionately and faithfully from the passage, 
" To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." 

November 21. This evening had five inquirers. What pleasure there 



LETTER TO H. B. HART. 67 

is in directing the sin-sick soul to the great Physician ! It is sweet 
work to preach Jesus, to dwell upon his love, his sufferings, and his 
death. 

November 28. Three presented themselves before the church for 
baptism and admission to fellowship. They gave interesting relations 
of the work of grace upon their hearts, and were unanimously received. 
Enjoyed a refreshing season. 

December 6. Preached three times ; baptized three ; administered 
the Lord's Supper. Had unusual peace and comfort. It is easy doing 
duty when the Lord is at work upon the hearts of the people. May I 
be stimulated to greater activity in my Master's service. 

December 16. Received a letter from my dear sister (J.), announ- 
cing the delightful fact that my youngest brother, Peter, has been hope- 
fully converted. 

December 29. Earnest desires for the conversion of young men. 
Wrote several letters to individuals in the parish, in whom I feel 
especially interested. Lord, accompany these letters with thy blessing. 

Only one of the letters referred to in the last extract has 
come into the hands of the editor. It was addressed to Mr. 
Henry B. Hart, late of Portland, Me., but then residing in 
Portsmouth, and a member of Mr. Stow's congregation. It 
is only a sample of many others written during the ministry 
of Mr. Stow, and it resulted, as doubtless many others did, in 
the awakening and conversion of the person to whom it was 
addressed. In less than two months from the time of receiv- 
ing it, Mr. Hart came to rest in Christ as his Saviour, and 
soon after both himself and his wife were baptized, and re- 
ceived into the fellowship of the Portsmouth church. He 
subsequently removed to Portland, Me., and, till the close 
of his life, was known as an active and influential mem- 
ber of the Free Street Church, in that city. He always 
cherished a very tender affection for the man whose faith- 
ful admonition and entreaty led him to Christ, and lived 
in relations of confidence and intimacy with him till death 
intervened. The interruption, however, was not long; for, 
since the preparation of the Memoir was undertaken, the 
tried friend, the faithful Christian, and the liberal supporter 
of all good works, followed his early teacher and guide to 
the rest and glory of heaven. The letter is here inserted. 



68 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

Portsmouth, November 19, 1829, 
My dear Friend : As your occupation renders it difficult for me to 
see you, and converse with you personally, as I would wish, permit me 
in this familiar manner to address you upon a subject of unusual im- 
portance. I have long felt a tender anxiety for your spiritual interests ; 
and this anxiety, instead of diminishing with the lapse of time, is daily 
increasing. Very few individuals in my congregation have occupied 
so much of my thoughts and prayers. At the time your dear companion 
professed to receive comfort from the grace of God in Christ her Saviour, 
I .was rejoiced to see that you felt solicitious for your own soul, and 
hoped that you, like her, would be led to exercise genuine faith in the 
Redeemer of sinners. Having had since no opportunity for personal 
conversation, I know not the result of the convictions with which your 
mind was then affected. I presume, however, that you yet indulge no 
hope that your sins have been forgiven, and that you are prepared to 
meet Christ in judgment. I have been ever delighted with the serious 
and fixed attention which you give to the word preached on the Sab- 
bath, and have consequently indulged the hope that truth would find a 
lodgment in your heart, and bring you to deep repentance for sin, and 
belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Permit me, my dear friend, to urge upon you the great importance 
of turning to the Lord and serving him with all your heart. I now ad- 
dress you, not merely as your pastor, but especially as your sincere 
friend — one who would be willing to suffer much for your soul's salva- 
tion. Tell me, are you doing what you should to secure that soul's 
best interests? Do you live a life of prayer? Do you make the Bible 
the rule of action ? Do you labor to imitate the meek and lowly Jesus ? 
Are your affections more upon God and heavenly things than upon 
the objects of earth? I am aware of the excellence of your moral 
character, the uniform propriety of your conduct, your strict temper- 
ance, your dislike of vicious society, your regard for the public services 
of religion, and your respectful treatment of all who give evidence of 
sincere piety. But, my friend, is your heart right with God? Have 
you ever seen the sinfulness of your nature ? Do you think you haye 
any genuine love for God? Can you rejoice that the Lord reigns, and 
that he does everything according to the pleasure of his own will? Do 
you feel any gratitude to him for the conversion of your wife ? Do you 
correctly understand and feel the righteousness of his holy law? O, 
how often do you and I violate that good law in heart, even when there 
is no outward act. Jehovah says, " My son, give me thine heart." 
How affectionate his language ! How reasonable his demand ! O, will 
you not comply with this demand, and give him your heart without delay ? 
What pleasure should I feel in being permitted to direct you, penitent 



JOURNAL. 69 

and broken-hearted, to that bleeding sacrifice that was offered on Cal- 
vary ! What satisfaction would it afford, not to me only, but to your 
nearest friend, your wife, as well as to numerous others who feel a deep 
interest for you, could we see you become a genuine disciple of Christ, 
devoting your youth and health to God, and striving to benefit your 
fellow-creatures by deeds of righteousness ! And do you feel contented, 
my friend, to remain in your present dangerous condition? Have you 
no fears that you shall lose your soul? Is not the mercy of God bound- 
less? May you not wow be saved? "Will you not now give up your 
heart to God, and secure an interest in the Redeemer's blood before it 
is forever too late ? If you have any desire to escape the tremendous 
consequences of sin, or any desire to enjoy an eternal heaven, now is 
the time. Do not delay. Every hour you lose is bringing you nearer 
to death and the grave. O, be persuaded to repent and believe the 
gospel. 

Receive this, dear sir, as a proof of my undissembled regard for you; 
and may we be so happy as at last to meet in a happier, holier state at 
God's right hand. 

Yours with esteem, 

Baron Stow. 

We return now to the journal, beginning with the entry on 
the first day of 

1830. 

January 1, 1830. Preached last evening for the Methodists. Am to- 
night to address the young. The good work still continues ; my labors 
increase. Our prayer meetings are crowded and solemn. 

January 24. A good day. Preached three times ; baptized nine. 
The day was the coldest of the season, but the candidates went forward 
with firmness, and found a blessing in obedience. I never enjoyed the 
ordinance more. The good work still advances ; some are daily brought 
into liberty. 

January 25. Read often Ezek. iii. 83. If ever I reach heaven, how 
true that salvation is all of grace ! 

March 11. Last Sabbath I baptized six, making nineteen since the 
meeting of the Association in October. Had a delightful season at the 
Lord's table. A letter from my dear brother P.. giving an account of 
his experience and baptism, &c. He writes like a real child of God. 
O that he may hold fast his profession, and be trained up for useful- 
ness. The Lord may choose him for a minister ; if so, I trust he will 
be far more holy than his brother B. Bitter storm of wind and sleet. 
Read the first part of Memoirs of Dr. Payson. What a holy man ! 
Lord, make me more like Payson ; more like Paul ; nay, more like Jesus. 



70 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

April 20. At church meeting last evening, four gave us the relation of 
the work of grace in their hearts. Our new members are nearly all 
young. They devolve on me, as well as on the church, a great re- 
sponsibility. O, thou great Shepherd, keep these lambs, protect them, 
nourish them, and may they remain steadfast, " perfecting holiness in 
the fear of the Lord." 

May 1. Have labored hard to prepare three sermons. I remem- 
ber Professor I. Chase once told me "to prepare my sermons with 
a view to benefit one soul; to prepare them with a distinct appre- 
hension of the value of one soul, and with a willingness to preach to one, 
should no more be present. In such a case I should not be disap- 
pointed if my congregation should happen to be very small." Good 
advice, but, alas ! little regarded. 

May 2. Had a refreshing hour last evening at the inquiry meeting. 
Found one more soul rejoicing in the liberty of the gospel — Captain 
J. L. Some weeks since his wife was brought to a knowledge of the 
truth, and commenced praying for him. He has been deeply convicted. 
He is really a new man. His tongue is active in praising the Lord, and 
warning his companions to repent and return to God. [He was bap- 
tized early on the morning of his sailing, and subsequently perished 
at sea.] 

July 1. Have received a pressing invitation from the Second Bap- 
tist Church, Salem, Mass., to become their pastor. Cannot accept. 

July 6. Have sent a negative answer to the request of the Salem 
friends. Lord, strengthen me for thy work in Portsmouth. 

July 15. A committee from Salem waited on me to press their claim, 
and endeavor to persuade me to think favorably of their request. Could 
give them no encouragement. They seem determined not to relinquish 
their object. O that I may be guided in the right way! I would not 
be obstinate, but must be decided. At present, cannot leave this in- 
teresting field. 

July 30. This day have returned from Maine, where I have been 
twelve days, attending the examination and Commencement at Water- 
ville College. On Tuesday was elected a member of the board of 
trustees. Wednesday, pronounced the Oration. "Was honored with 
the degree of A. M. 

October 16. Beceived a letter this morning from Dr. Chaplin, of 
Waterville, renewing the request that I would remove and become the 
pastor of the church in that place. He is very urgent. In such cases 
I ought to look to God for direction. I need wisdom from above. 
Evidently my work is nearly finished here. Whither I shall go I know 
not, nor do I much care, provided the Lord go before and with me. 
Blessed Saviour, make me more like thyself. 



CALLS TO OTHER CHURCHES. 71 

It will be observed that within a few months Mr. Stow 
received two urgent invitations to remove from Ports- 
mouth. The Second Baptist Church in Salem, Mass., had 
become vacant by the resignation of Rev. Mr. Pattison, 
who had been called to the First Baptist Church in Prov- 
idence, R. I. The correspondence conducted by the com- 
mittee — among whom I find the honored names of J. Mori- 
arty and Robert Upton — is before me. It urges the case 
very strongly, and presents weighty reasons why the Ports- 
mouth pastor should accept the call so heartily extended to 
him. But he did not feel that he was justified in leaving his 
present field of labor. After having reached the conclusion 
that it was not his duty to accept the call of the Salem 
church, he addressed a letter to Rev. Mr. Babcock, then pastor 
of the First Church, in which he gives the reasons which 
have led him to the decision to which he had come. This 
letter presents Mr. Stow in the most praiseworthy light, as 
actuated by noble, Christian principle in the course which he 

pursued. 

Portsmouth, August 9, 1830. 

Dear Brother Babcock : While the negotiation between the 
Second Church in Salem and myself was pending, I was several times 
at the point of writing you, for the purpose of ascertaining your views 
and feelings upon the subject. But it occurred to me, that, however 
ready you might be to express your personal feelings, you would find 
it difficult, from your peculiar situation, to suggest anything that might 
have a tendency to dissuade me from accepting their proposal. As the 
negotiation is now concluded, you will permit me to say a few words in 
reference to the motives which induced me to decline the request. 

He then alludes to certain pecuniary embarrassments, 
which were weighing heavily upon his spirits, from which he 
could free himself if he were to change his pastoral connec- 
tion. He also refers to the want of denominational sym- 
pathy which he finds in Portsmouth, the nearest Baptist 
church being twelve miles off. He says he has to be " bishop, 
rector, vicar, curate, &c, &c," and the burdens he carries are 
almost insupportable. And yet his heart clings to his beloved 
flock, and he cannot make up his mind to desert them in the 
hour of their great need. He writes, — 



72 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

The ties which bind me to this dear people, and them to me, could 
not be sundered without pain — I had almost said, without blood. They 
have done their utmost to sustain the cause, and to make me comforta- 
ble. They have actually sacrificed for my sake, and could I leave 
such friends ? This interest is important, and ought to be sustained. 
Should I leave them in their present condition, I fear that disaster would 
follow. Besides, my brethren in this state importuned me so urgently 
to remain, and made out so strong a case in regard to the moral neces- 
sities of our Baptist churches, that I found it difficult to resist their 
entreaties. After balancing all the circumstances, I found that personal 
considerations lay chiefly on one side, and the claims of Zion on the 
other. I could not hesitate. For Zion's sake I trust I felt willing 
still longer to sacrifice and suffer, and commit myself to Him who best 
knows what discipline we need to keep us in our proper places. I see 
little else than suffering before me ; but if the cup cannot pass from me, 
I implore grace to render me ever willing to drink it. 

The overtures from Waterville were presented in two let- 
ters, written by Rev. Dr. Chaplin, president of Waterville 
College. These letters are characteristic of the writer, and 
exhibit in a very striking light the persistent energy which 
carried him through the toils and sacrifices incident to the 
foundation of what is now " Colby University." The sec- 
ond of these letters contains a re-statement of the matters 
urged in the first, and we cannot resist the impulse we feel to 
give it entire, both as illustrating the characteristics of the 
writer, and as showing the inducements which were expected 
to influence the decision of one of the most promising Bap- 
tist preachers of that day. 

Waterville College, October 23, 1830. 
Rev. Mr. Stow. 

Dear Sir : When I wrote you last (ten or twelve days since) I 
had not room to say all I wished to say. The present letter is accord- 
ingly intended to be an appendix to my former one. I hope you will not 
be offended because my letters follow one another in so rapid succes- 
sion, but will impute their frequency to the deep anxiety which I feel 
for the promotion of learning and religion in this region. 

In my last I stated that I had secured of our State Convention aid 
for the Baptist church in this place to the amount of one hundred dollars, 
on condition that a suitable preacher should be obtained, and that I had a 
prospect of obtaining two hundred more in Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island, by the assistance of two of the students of the college. I added, 



LETTER FROM PRESIDENT CHAPLIN. 73 

that we would engage to raise at least two hundred dollars in this place. 
I have since, I think, seen some good reason to believe that a larger sum 
might be raised, provided I could give assurance that you would come. 
I attended a meeting of our church a week ago. It was much fuller than 
usual, and very interesting. The members present appeared deeply 
impressed with the importance of having a faithful and an able pastor, 
and nearly all the leading men in the church seemed to be sensible of 
the necessity of more efficient and systematic efforts for the support of 
the gospel. No vote was passed in relation to the sum to be raised, but 
I apprehend that in the event of our receiving encouraging assurances 
from you, we should be able to raise two hundred dollars in the 
church alone, and two hundred more from people in Waterville. I 
have expressed to several of the brethren, confidentially, the hope I 
had that you might be obtained ; and I should have done the same to 
the members generally, did I not fear we might be disappointed. Con- 
sidering all things, I thought it best to say no more than this in the 
church meetings, viz., that matters were in train for procuring a man 
with whom they would all be satisfied ; and I think you may rest assured 
that there is not a member of our church who would not be rejoiced to 
hear that you could be obtained. 

As it respects myself, and most, if not all, of the officers of the college, 
we do not want you here merely as the minister of the place. We want 
you here as a member of the board of trustees, as one of our examin- 
ing committee, and as a friend whom we may consult in difficult cases, 
and to whom we may open our minds with freedom and confidence. We 
want you to visit the pious students, particularly the beneficiaries of our 
education societies, and to assist us to raise the standard of religious 
feeling in the college. We want you also to visit our academy fre- 
quently, and unite with us in concerting measures for promoting its 
growth and reputation. I will add, we greatly need your aid in our 
Association, in our Education Society, and in our State Convention. 
Should you remove to this place, and be favored with the blessing of 
God on your efforts, your sphere of action would be extensive, and your 
usefulness, as it seems to me, very great. I say, should the blessing of 
God attend your efforts. I am sensible that your talents and acquire- 
ments would avail nothing without this ; but this, I trust, will not be with- 
held. For it really seems to me that it is your duty to come ; and I need 
not tell you that the way of duty is the way of blessing. 

It seems to me that Waterville is the very place where you are most 
needed, and where your talents may be employed with the greatest effect. 
I know there are other places where you may have more hearers. But 
the character of our hearers is more to be regarded than the number. 
Our assembly is not large, but a more interesting assembly can hardly 
be found in any part of New England. Besides a considerable number 
of educated and professional men residing in the village, nearly all the 



74 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

students of the college and the academy may be expected to attend our 
meeting. And how important it is that young men, who, in consequence 
of their talents and their acquirements, are destined to occupy impor- 
tant stations in the church or in the civil community, and exert a 
mighty influence on thousands and tens of thousands of their fellow- 
men, — an influence which must be felt to the end of time and through 
eternity, — how important that they have the advantage of sitting under 
a ministry which is not only distinguished for orthodoxy and piety, but 
which shall give them clear and extensive views of divine truth, shall 
make them feel that there is nothing in pure religion incompatible with 
intellectual greatness, and that a humble, devoted Christian may be a 
genius and a scholar ! Had you not, my dear sir, rather preach to such 
an assembly as ours, though comparatively small, than to one much 
larger, composed of people in the ordinary walks of life ? And, I may 
add, would you not have the prospect of doing much more good? Per- 
haps, however, I need say nothing of the smallness of our assembly. 
There is, I apprehend, good reason to expect that our congregation 
would greatly increase should you consent to become our pastor. 

In closing, allow me, my dear sir, to express my earnest desire and 
my hope that God will graciously assist you in ascertaining your duty, 
and will give you much of that wisdom which is profitable to direct. 
If I know my own heart, I do not wish you to remove to Waterville, 
unless you can do it with his approbation. To his blessing I desire to 
commend both you and yours, while I subscribe myself 

Your friend and brother in the gospel, 

Jeremiah Chaplin. 

It is not easy to conceive how great the disappointment of 
Dr. Chaplin must have been when he received from Mr. 
Stow a negative reply to his letters. Evidently his hopes 
had been highly raised, and his imagination drew a bright 
picture of the delightful results which would be sure to follow 
Mr. Stow's acceptance of the call which would have been 
extended to him had he given the slightest encouragement 
to believe he would become the pastor of the Waterville 
church. He had, however, waded through too many diffi- 
culties, and encountered too many trials, to allow himself 
long to brood over this blighting of his hopes. Meanwhile, 
the subject of our Memoir, having disposed of a matter 
which, we doubt not, he most seriously took into considera- 
tion, continued to make full proof of his ministry in Ports- 
mouth. 



CLOSE OF MINISTRY IN PORTSMOUTH. 75 



CHAPTER VI. 

Last Year in Portsmouth. — Invitations to remove to differ- 
ent Places. — Journal. — Call to Baldwin Place Church, 
Boston. — Letters from Rev. J. D. Knowles and Dr. Sharp. 
— Dr. Lamson on Dr. Stow's Ministry in Portsmouth. 

1830-1832. 

The course of events has brought us nearly to the closing 
year of Mr. Stow's ministry in Portsmouth. He is im- 
pressed, at the commencement of the year, that his ministry 
here is probably drawing to an end. Some special tokens of 
the divine favor manifested themselves early in the year. A 
few inquirers came to him to converse with him on matters 
connected with the salvation of their souls. He had suc- 
ceeded in awakening much interest in the cause of temper- 
ance. He tells us an anecdote which amused him much. 
" A genuine dram-drinker, being asked if he were going to 
hear my address on intemperance, replied, 'No, I don't like 
him. I believe, if he were to look at a hogshead of rum, the 
head would fall in.'" He observes, "I notice how carefully 
the drunkards shun me, and retailers give me little opportu- 
nity for conversation." As the weeks pass away, his anxi- 
eties for a revival . of religion increase. In the month of 
April there was held, for several days, a series of meetings. 
All these efforts, however, failed to accomplish the results 
which he so much desired to see. 

We give a few more extracts from his journal, which, 
while they represent him as still active in his ministerial 
labors, also disclose to us the chain of causes, each one of 
which had some connection with the dissolution of the ties 
which bound him to Portsmouth. 



76 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

May 19. Preached at Stratham last evening, from Psalms lxxxv. 6. 
Had unusual liberty. In times past I have generally enjoyed more free- 
dom at home than abroad; but during the past five or six weeks this 
thing has been reversed. I have little freedom at home, and much en- 
largement abroad. Is this an indication from the Lord touching duty ? 
I now have an urgent call to remove to Lowell. Shall I go ? I am al- 
most decided in the opinion that my work is done in Portsmouth. I 
have, indeed, no desire to leave this place. Everything, with one ex- 
ception, is quite as agreeable as I could expect in any place on earth — 
my labors are not blessed. In other places, wherever I go, the Lord is 
pleased to give efficiency to my poor labors. Does this fact speak a lan- 
guage at all definite upon this point or not * I think I am willing to 
stay if it be the Lord's will. I fear I may be too impatient, too much 
unreconciled, too much disposed to think my labors deserve the divine 
blessing. I know I am greatly wrong at heart. I need, I beg forgive- 
ness of my God. Show me the right way, O Lord, and sanctify my 
unholy dispositions. 

May 30. Returned from Boston. Have been to attend the religious 
anniversaries. On Wednesday delivered two addresses — one before 
the Northern Baptist Education Society, upon "the importance of su- 
perior piety in those whom the church may encourage to preach the 
gospel ; " the other before the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society, 
on "the physical and moral ability of the church." Sabbath day 
preached on exchange for Brother Knowles, in Baldwin Place ; in the 
evening, for Brother Jacobs, Cambridgeport. "Weather exceedingly 
warm, but my heart excessively cold. 

June 10. Returned from Newburyport. Preached for Rev. Mr. 
Proudfit in the house under whose pulpit sleep the ashes of that man 
of God, Rev. George Wbitefield. There was something really inspiring 
in the thought I was so near the dust of such a man. Would that I had 
more of his spirit. 

September 29. Since the preceding date, I have passed over consid- 
erable territory, and through varied scenes. Visited Concord, New 
Hampton, New London, Newport, and from there came to Boston; 
thence to Newton to consult with friends on one or two points : first, 
Shall I go to Ohio, as has been proposed, to be president of a college ? 
or shall I go to New Hampton, and take charge of the theological de- 
partment? or shall I stay here? Decided not to go west at present. 
Could not fully decide between the other two. How good the Lord has 
been to me ! Praised be the Lord for all his mercies ; bless him, O my 
soul! 

September 30. Heard of the death of dear Brother George D. Board- 
man, missionary to Burmah. He died among the Karens, February 



JOURNAL. 77 

11, 1831. He was "a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost." His 
labors were blessed among the Karens. The day before his death he 
witnessed the baptism of thirty-four converts. Who will go and take 
his place ? How do the vacancies in our churches multiply ! Great 
Head, send forth more laborers ! 

October 7. Returned from Exeter — the meeting of our Baptist As- 
sociation. The Lord was evidently with us. Much seriousness exists 
in the place. Several seem to be affected in view of their sinfulness. 
O that the Lord would pour out his Spirit plentifully upon Exeter, and 
turn that people to himself! And may I not pray again and again for my 
own church? 

October 18. A day of fasting and prayer in the church. Some signs 
of returning life. The foDowing evils are to be deplored : 1. Languor 
in prayer; 2. Deficiency of faith ; 3. Want of brotherly love ; 4. Con- 
fidence in means; 5. Want of self-denial; 6. Worldly-mindedness ; 
7. Ingratitude for past mercies ; 8. Indecision ; 9. Inconstancy of 
feeling. 

October 19. Feel some quickening in prayer. Can get a little nearer 
the throne. It seems as if the tempter had permission to vex and 
worry me to his heart's content. He spares no effort to keep me away 
from a throne of grace, and when I bow before the Lord, he is around 
me and within me, disturbing my thoughts, drawing away my mind 
from God, and thrusting in sceptical suggestions. I experience more 
of his temptations when on my knees than everywhere else. Lord, 
grant me grace to resist the devil. 

October 29. Preached last evening in the vestry, from John vi. 45. 
More men than usual at the meeting. All very attentive. For two 
weeks I have felt great solicitude for the young men in my parish, that 
they might hear the truth with profit, and, learning of the Father, they 
might come to the Son, be useful in his church, and glorify him here- 
after. For the pupils in the Sabbath school I have been unusually in- 
terested. They are light and thoughtless. O God, change their hearts, 
and bring them to the arms of Jesus, that he may bless them. One of 
the lambs of my flock has died the past week. Help me, Lord, to 
improve this providence for the good of the children. 

November 15. Perplexed and disturbed by another invitation to re- 
move. The call now is unanimous and persistent from Portland. 
Within sixteen months I have refused applications from several places. 

December 15. Sent a negative reply to Portland. My trial and per- 
plexity in ascertaining duty have been severe, but a kind Providence 
has marked out my course with sufficient clearness, and I have con- 
cluded to continue with this dear people. They are doing all in their 
power to sustain the interest, and it appears, should I abandon them, it 
must seriously suffer. 



78 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

December 31, Saturday evening. In a few short hours the year 1831 
will have finished its course. My labors the past year have been many. 
In not a few instances, here and elsewhere, have they been made useful 
by the special blessing of God. May I not hope that, yet other fruit 
will appear ? To God be all the glory. 

1832. 

January 1, 1832. A monument of divine mercy I come to thee, O God, 
and dedicate myself anew to thy service. Thirteen years ago yesterday 
I was baptized upon a profession of faith. What little progress have I 
made in the divine art of holy living ! I now come to thee to acknowl- 
edge my dependence, and to take thy Son, with fresh faith, as my 
Teacher, Priest, and King. On his merits I repose my soul, my all ; 
in him, and him only, would I hope. 

January 5. Delivered an address last evening before the Mechanics' 
Association, on "aristocracy." A large and attentive audience. Have 
since felt not a little mortified on a review of the exercises. I fear I 
may have done injury to the cause of Christianity by indulging my pro- 
pensity for satire. 

February 10. My mind has sweet peace, trusting God. Have some 
comfort in prayer. It seems as if God really listened to my petitions. 

that I may be fully recovered from my backslidden state, enjoy again 
the light of the divine countenance, find duty a delight, preach, and 
live more exclusively for Christ. 

February 17. Heard of the death of the Rev. Dr. Cornelius, corre- 
sponding secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for For- 
eign Missions. He was a great man, and eminently good. O, my soul, 
prepare to meet thy God ! 

February 27. Returned from Boston, to which place I went this day 
week to assist my dear Brother Knowles in a " four days' meeting." I 
hope our labors were with profit, through grace. The friends of the 
Second Church were exceedingly kind — too much so to me. Besides 
my expenses they presented me with the gift of seventy dollars — a free- 
will offering. Honestly I can say for no part of this did I visit or labor 
with them. The Lord reward their manifold kindness. 

February 29. Reading the Life of Thomas Scott, author of the 
Commentary. Much interested in its developments of internal charac- 
ter. He entered the ministry September 22, 1772. His motives, he 
says, were these : — 

" 1. A desire of a less laborious and more comfortable way of pro- 
curing a maintenance than otherwise I had a prospect of. [He was 
previously a grazier.] 

" 2. The expectation of more leisure to employ in reading, of which 

1 was inordinately fond. 



JOURNAL. 79 

" 3. A proud conceit of my abilities, with a vain-glorious imagination 
that I should some time distinguish and advance myself in the literary 
world. These were my ruling motives in taking this bold step." 

After reading these confessions I felt constrained to examine my own 
motives in entering the ministry. Of a truth, I find much to condemn. 
Still I cannot ascertain that I was influenced in the least by any of the 
considerations suggested by Mr. Scott. I am aware I never loved man- 
ual labor — generally avoided it when practicable. This was not occa- 
sioned by any love of idleness. It was owing to an unconquerable 
thirst for knowledge. I loved books better. But for a whole year pre- 
vious to my first thoughts about the ministry, I had fully made up my 
mind to seek a livelihood, yea, even wealth, by agriculture. I formed 
plans which are now fresh in my memory, and I became quite ambitious 
to carry them into splendid execution. There are, probably, a hundred 
persons in Newport wbo will never think otherwise than that I entered 
this most holy work because I was too indolent to labor on a farm. In 
this, however, I honestly aver that they were mistaken. Neither do I 
discover that either of the two motives named by Mr. Scott had any in- 
fluence upon me at the time. I think I then felt an ardent love for souls, 
a desire to consecrate myself wholly to the Lord's service. I can easily 
perceive that I did not sufficiently reflect upon the subject, or pray over 
it, as I should have done. One selfish consideration often had too much 
weight with me. I greatly dreaded the probability of spiritual declen- 
sion, and thought the studies preparatory to the ministry, and the duties 
of the sacred office, would be effectual safeguards against backsliding. 
How little did I then know of the human heart, or of my own ! how 
little of the temptations to which those very studies and duties would 
subject me! 

September 4. Self-examination makes terrible havoc of my hopes. 
It shows me more and more the stability of the foundation, but compels 
me to doubt whether I ever have reposed true confidence thereon. 
The shipwrecked mariner knows, when his feet are planted on " terra 
firma," he has the evidence of sensation ; but in spiritual things there 
is no such certainty. I know Christ is a rock, and if I build upon him 
I shall never be confounded. But the evidence of so building is not 
found in my feelings and impressions, but in the course of conduct pur- 
sued as a consequence. What is my manner of life? I would search 
myself throughout. 

September 28. Just returned from Portland, where I assisted in or- 
daining Brother John S. Maginnis as pastor of the Baptist Church. 
Gave him the charge, and preached in the evening. 

October 16. Brother Knowles has resigned his pastorate of the 
Second Baptist Church in Boston, and accepted his appointment as pro- 



80 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

fessor at Newton. Letters from him and others inform me that I shall 
probably be invited by that church and society to become his successor. 
However flattering may be such a proposition, it will place me in truly 
perplexing and trying circumstances. With the feeble interest here 
I have become almost wholly identified, and the thought of leaving is 
very painful. There is but one object on earth that I love as I do this 
churcli and its welfare. " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? " If I 
can live here, and survive my many and crushing embarrassments, I feel 
I must. Into thy hands, 'my Master, I will endeavor to surrender my- 
self, willing to be guided ''by thine unerring wisdom." It matters little 
what I am, or where, if I am only in the path of duty. 

October 19. The dreaded invitation has at length arrived, and the 
question is before me — Shall I go or stay ? Duty must be done. What 
that duty is, I am not yet able to decide. I need wisdom from above — 
that wisdom which is profitable to direct. O God, be thou my guide, 
even unto death. 

October 24. The case is decided. I have asked and received a dis- 
mission from my present charge, and shall soon remove to Boston. A 
bold and important step. I believe it to be in accordance with the divine 
will. The way seems plain, and I trust the Lord will enable me to go 
forward in it, confiding in him. His grace is sufficient for me. 

October 28. Concluded my labors with this dear people. Preached 
my last sermon this afternoon. A solemn occasion. O that it may 
prove a profitable season ! 

The extracts thus given cover the entire period of his 
ministry in Portsmouth. Following his own suggestion, 
and wishing to escape the criticism to which reference has 
already been made, the writer has let the subject of this 
Memoir present the great facts of his history in his own 
language. No words we could use could convey a better 
idea of his outer and inner life, while he was perforrniDg the 
work intrusted to his hands during the first five years of 
his ministry. The question of dissolving the relations which 
he had sustained to his people was one which deeply touched 
his sensitive spirit. Besides laying the matter before Him 
to whom he was wont to repair in all the emergencies 
of life, he took counsel of his brethren. The following let- 
ters from two of his brethren in the ministry, for whom he 
felt the most sincere regard, may with propriety be intro- 
duced here. 



LETTER FROM PROFESSOR K^OWLES. 81 

Boston, September 22, 1832. 

Dear Brother Stow : I have designed to write to you, but I have 
been so much occupied by the distressing crisis in which I have been 
placed, and I have so confidently expected a visit from you, that I have 
not written. I have been passing through deep waters, but I have at 
length arrived at firm footing. Suffice it to say that I have become 
fully persuaded of my duty to leave my present post. My health is 
not as good as when I first returned, and I am abundantly convinced 
that if I am to be saved to my family and to the cause, I must throw off 
the " load would sink a navy." The necessity of another professor at 
Newton is imperative. Professor Chase must be absent this winter, or 
he will die ; and to leave the institute with but one professor would im- 
peril the best interests of the seminary. 

I have accordingly been appointed professor. I have presented my 
resignation to the church and society. The former have accepted it, 
and the latter probably will to-morrow. After the 1st of October, there- 
fore, I shall no longer be pastor of the Second Baptist Church. The 
result has given me great pain, and my people feel deeply grieved. 
Some are unreconciled, and a few, perhaps, will leave the church and 
society. But there is a general conviction that God has decided the 
question, and that our plain duty is to acquiesce. There will, I trust, 
be harmony still, and God will, I hope, guide them to the speedy choice 
of another pastor. 

On whom they will fix their choice I cannot tell. There will, un- 
doubtedly, be preferences for different individuals ; but I think that you 
will be more likely to receive their choice than any other person. God's 
providence has brought you to the notice of my people, and has attracted 
towards you their affections in a remarkable degree. He has, too, re- 
served you at Portsmouth in a way which has always seemed to me in- 
dicative of some important design. You will probably be requested, at 
any rate, to come and preach as a candidate ; and if so requested, you 
must come, and if invited to become their pastor, you must consent. You 
cannot in such a case mistake the will of God. Whether you will be 
able to sustain the duties here is a serious question ; but with your ex- 
perience and your stock of sermons, you may, I think, with prudence 
labor here a few years at least. 

The Lord bless and guide you, my dear brother. Our time is short. 
Let us do with our might what our hand findeth to do. 
Your affectionate fellow-servant, 

J. D. Knowles. 

Mr. Stow seriously objected, under the circumstances, to 
preach as a candidate, and actually declined to do so. Ap- 
pealing to his friend Dr. Sharp as to the propriety of the 
6 



82 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

course lie pursued, he received the following reply to his 

letter : — 

Boston, October 9, 1832. 

My dear Brother : I was unexpectedly called out of town yester- 
day, or I should have answered your letter. I have not seen Mr. Beals, 
but I had a confidential conversation with Mr. Knowles on Saturday. I 
learned from him that the brethren approved of the course you had 
pursued, and the motives which they supposed influenced you in refus- 
ing to supply them as a candidate. My impression is, that the brethren 
are satisfied ; but they thought then, and probably think now, that, were 
it expedient on your part, it would be desirable that the congregation 
should be better acquainted with you before they proceeded to nominate 
you as their future pastor. This, no doubt, would secure universal har- 
mony of action. I understand, however, that you will be invited to 
preach, with the expressed hope that you will become their pastor. 
This will be an event deeply interesting, both to yourself and to your 
people. I can only say that, in view of all the circumstances in the 
case, I trust you will be enabled, in the fear of God, to do what will be 
best for your own happiness and for the cause which you profess to love. 

Were your affairs prosperous at Portsmouth, I would remain. But it 
has appeared to me that a man of inferior, but of different talents from 
yourself, might, perhaps, succeed you to advantage. I consider your 
relation to the churches in New Hampshire more important than your 
relation to the church in Portsmouth. How that deficiency would be 
supplied I am at a loss to know. I fear that many interests that are 
dear to you would suffer. Still, a man cannot for any length of time 
be useful abroad, if he is harassed and perplexed at home. 

Should it, in view of all the circumstances of the case, appear to be 
your duty to accept the invitation which will be given you to settle as 
pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Boston, I can only say that I 
shall rejoice in the event, and cordially welcome you as a fellow-laborer 
in our Master's vineyard. "With the brethren in the vicinity you are 
acquainted. Your knowledge of them will be a sufficient pledge of the 
kind intercourse you will enjoy by being in their neighborhood. May 
the Lord direct you in this and in all your other concerns. 

With kind regards to Mrs. Stow, in which my wife unites, 
I am, dear brother, affectionately yours, 

Daniel Sharp. 

A few days after this date, Professor Knowles wrote a 

second letter to his friend. 

Newton, October 14, 1832. 

Dear Brother : You perceive by the date that the agony is over, 
and that I have torn myself away from my church and congregation. 



LETTER FEOM PEOFESSOE KNOWLES. 83 

The struggle has been severe. Had I known what it would have cost 
roe, and been aware how much some of my people would suffer by my 
removal, I could not, I think, have determined to go. But the step has 
been taken, and, whether for good or evil, it is now irrevocable. My 
conviction remains unshaken that it was required by a prudent regard 
for my own health and my future usefulness. I feel, too, that there is 
here a post of great responsibility, where I may serve Zion more ex- 
tensively than in any pastorship ; and the existence almost of the insti- 
tution required another officer here at this juncture. Yet I feel that the 
pastor is the most important man on earth, and I have made many great 
sacrifices by coming hither. The Lord grant me grace and wisdom, 
that I may perform my duties faithfully and usefully. Pray for me, 
dear brother. 

I should have written to you on the subject of your last letter, but 
the bustle and excitement of my removal have prevented me. I see the 
force of your objection to supplying the pulpit under existing circum- 
stances. I approve of your decision, and believe that it has raised your 
character in the estimation of the church. Yet it was well to give you 
the invitation, because some would not have been willing to act in your 
favor if the attempt had not been made to give them an opportunity to 
hear you further. It need not, and ought not, to mortify you that the 
people are not ready to invite you to become their pastor without know- 
ing you better. There are, I presume, hundreds in our congregation 
who would not know you if you should enter the pulpit. They hear so 
many preachers that they take no notice of any particular individual 
unless they hear him very often. 

The church, however, I understand, have voted to invite you to be- 
come their pastor, provided that the society concur. Many of the 
church have been unwilling to invite you without hearing you more, 
and some are opposed to calling a pastor from his people. But our 
church are accustomed to act together, and those who felt objections 
have acquiesced in the will of the majority. Whether the society will 
concur is not certain. They are less acquainted with you than the 
church are. I hear of no objections, except the want of knowledge of 
your qualifications. I have no fears that you will fail to satisfy them 
all, when you have had sufficient opportunities. You ought to consider 
a call from such a church and congregation as a strong intimation of 
God's will. You will find them, if you come, a kind people. Trials 
you must expect, and labors beyond measure. If you consulted your 
own ease, and the prolongation of your life, you would not come. No 
one who has been a pastor in Boston would choose the station again, 
honorable, and in many respects pleasant, as it is. But we are not our 
own, and have no right to choose our place of labor or of rest. " Lord, 



84 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

what wilt thouhave me to do?" is the only question for us. You will 
come under many advantages, and I pray that you may be sustained 
for many years, and made a blessing to thousands. 

We are not yet settled here, and cannot form a judgment respect- 
ing our prospects of personal comfort; but "the Lord reigneth; let 
the earth rejoice." 

Professor Chase will perhaps go to Italy and Greece to spend the 
winter. Our love to Mrs. Stow. 

Your affectionate brother, 

James D. Knowles. 

B. Stow. 

The following communication, prepared by Rev. W. Lam- 
son, D. D., of Brookline, Mass., who for several years was 
the pastor of the church in Portsmouth, properly finds a 
place at this stage of the Memoir : — 

Dr. Stow's Ministry in Portsmouth, N. H. 

Mt dear Brother Stockbridge : In response to your request 
for a paper on Dr. Stow's ministry in Portsmouth, I must express my 
regret that I can do little more than record general impressions. It 
was my privilege to hear only one sermon from him during his minis- 
try there, but that made a profound impression on me. The text I have 
forgotten, and the theme ; and I only remember that the crucifixion was 
so vividly painted, that I — a lad then — felt as though I had actually 
seen it. 

Many years after that, in 1848, I accepted a call to the pastorate of 
the same church in Portsmouth to which he had ministered. Sixteen 
years had passed since he had finished his labors there, and during those 
years the church had had a succession of good and able pastors ; but, as 
I became acquainted with the people, I found it was his ministry 
that was most vividly and affectionately remembered, and that not by 
his own people alone, but by the whole community, he was held in the 
highest esteem. It was in 1827 that Baron Stow received and accepted 
the invitation to settle in Portsmouth. There was little there to attract 
an aspiring man in the condition or prospects of the church. It had 
been but recently constituted ; its members were few, and its resources 
were limited. What there was to draw a young man of brilliant talents 
and of good education in the little handful of Baptists who then consti- 
tuted the church, we may not be able to see. But Portsmouth was in 
his native state, and was the seaport of the state. Its population was 
but a little rising eight thousand ; yet it was, as it ever since has been, 
distinguished for the general refinement and culture of its citizens. The 



REMINISCENCES BY DK. LAMSON. 85 

learned professions at that time embraced some who were just rising 
into distinction, and who afterwards became eminent. In the law were 
such men as Jeremiah Mason, Ichabod Bartlett, Levi Woodbury, Est- 
wicke Evans, and W. H. T. Hackett. In the ministry were Charles 
Burroughs, Israel W. Putnam, and Nathan Parker, and others. Per- 
haps there was no town in New England, of its size, where the standard 
of general culture was higher, or in which there were more men of 
eminent intellectual power. And then the town was finely located at 
the mouth of a noble river, and abounded in historic associations. 
Tbese attractions, added to the hope of seeing the little obscure band 
of Baptists grow in strength and prominence, decided the young and elo- 
quent preacher to accept the call. At that time the church numbered 
but thirty, and only eight male members. The old " Pitts Street 
Chapel," as it was called, was the place of worship. Through the cour- 
tesy of the proprietors of the " South Meeting-house," Baron Stow 
was ordained to the Christian ministry in that more spacious edifice, 
and installed as pastor of the Baptist Church. The little church gave 
him their affection, their sympathy, and their cooperation, and he 
thrilled and delighted them every Sabbath by his earnest and eloquent 
sermons. There were no men of large resources among them, but 
there were some of large hearts and strong faith. Led and stimulated 
by their pastor, this little band conceived and executed the bold project 
of building one of the most beautiful churches in the state, in perhaps 
the most eligible lot in the town. The house was erected in 1828. And 
now the young preacher had a fit place in which to deliver his messages. 
At his Sabbath evening services the house was thronged, and among his 
hearers were many of the most cultivated and intellectual from all the 
congregations. His popularity as a man and a preacher steadily in- 
creased. He became an active member of a forensic club, and made 
his mark there. He was made welcome in many homes beyond the 
limits of his own parish. Without compromising one iota of his de- 
nominational views, he was the cheerful companion and the agreeable 
guest of those who, theologically, differed widely from him. Attracted 
to hear him by his fervor and eloquence, they were certain to listen to 
the most evangelical doctrines and the most pungent appeals. 

But his ministry was not merely popular — it was, in the best sense, 
effective. The church grew in spiritual strength, in Christian zeal, and 
in numbers to the very close of his labors among them. It was a bright 
and happy period in the history of the church, when, with their almost 
idolized preacher, they entered their new place of worship. The strug- 
gle was over. They had a home. The question was settled. They were 
to live. They seemed just about to receive the reward of their anxieties, 
and toils, and sacrifices. But after a short season of this enjoyment 



86 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

and hope, the blow came which almost crushed them. The Baldwin 
Place pulpit, Boston, was vacant. The church was nearly a century 
old, and had been ministered to by Baldwin and Knowles as its latest 
pastors. It was the Baptist church in the state. In looking over the 
whole denomination, their eye could rest on no one but the popular 
preacher of Portsmouth. It was hard for the little church, then stagger- 
ing under a heavy debt, exhausted by the mighty effort they had made, 
and resting all their hopes, under God, in their pastor, to be deprived of 
him. It was felt to be so. Baldwin Place acknowledged it. But, then, 
Boston was the centre. It was the place for the best gifts. Mr. Stow's 
influence would be increased many fold. The call was unanimous and 
imperative. It was accepted, and the little flock in Portsmouth, bereft 
of their shepherd, mourned as one that mourneth for an only son. 

It has been said that Baldwin Place is where Baron Stow did his great 
work, and exhibited his great power. And it was there that the largest 
crowds of " admiring, tearful, penitent, converted hearers hung upon 
his lips." He was in the prime of his manhood. He knew his strength. 
Preaching was no longer an experiment. He was at home in the pulpit. 
Measured by popularity, by the number who attended his ministry, or 
by immediate results, Baldwin Place was the theatre of his noblest ex- 
ploits. But it may be doubted if he was ever more beloved, or ever 
happier, than during the brief period that he ministered to his little 
Portsmouth flock. 

In just five years his ministry there closed. Ordained October 24, 
1827, he took leave of them October 24, 1832. The fruits of his minis- 
try remain to this day. No subsequent pastor has been able to Jill the 
place which he filled in the hearts of the older members of that church. 
The house built for him still stands, reconstructed and made more 
beautiful, and is filled each Sabbath with an earnest and vigorous con- 
gregation. Scattered among this congregation are a few, a little rem- 
nant, of those who, forty years ago, saw the " electric flash of his eye," 
and listened to the tones of his magic voice. But by far the greater 
number preceded him to the spirit world, and these will soon follow. 

William Lamson. 

Brookline, October, 1870. 



BALDWIN PLACE CHURCH. 87 



CHAPTER VII. 

Sketch of the History of the Baldwin Place Church. — Per- 
sonal Reminiscences. — Installation. — Success in his Work. 
— Journal. 

1832-1834. 

A brief glance at the history of the Baldwin Place 
Church, to which Mr. Stow had been called, and to which he 
gave the best energies of his ministerial life, will not be 
deemed out of place. The occasion of its formation was the 
dissatisfaction of quite a number of the members of the First 
Baptist Church with the preaching of the pastor, Rev. Jer- 
emiah Condy, whom they regarded as not "sound in the 
faith." The church was organized July 27, 1743, and was 
known as the Second Baptist Church of Boston. Its first 
pastors were Rev. Ephraim Bownd, Rev. John Davis, Rev. 
Isaac Skillman, D. D., and Rev. Thomas Gair. The death 
of Mr. Gair, a young man of great promise, -was a sad blow 
to the church. A few months after his decease, the church 
invited Rev. Thomas Baldwin, D. D., to become his suc- 
cessor. During his pastorate of thirty-five years, eight hun- 
dred and twenty-six persons united with the church. The 
ministry of Dr. Baldwin was an eminently successful one, 
and the influence of his preaching, and his holy example, still 
remain in the venerable church over which, for so many years, 
he presided. He was succeeded in the pastoral oflice by 
Rev. James D. Knowles, who retired, at the end of seven 
years, to enter upon the duties of professor in the Newton 
Theological Institution, where he remained until removed by 
death, May 9, 1838. 



00 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

The church, being once more destitute of a minister, began 
to think about a successor to Professor Knowles. The suc- 
cess which had followed Mr. Stow in Portsmonth, and his 
marked ability as a preacher, were well known to them. 
While they believed that a wider, and perhaps more fruitful 
field would be opened to him in Boston than he was now 
occupying, yet many of the church conscientiously held the 
opinion that it is wrong to call a pastor from another church, 
where his relations are all pleasant, and they were opposed 
to taking any action which might sever the tie which bound 
the Portsmouth pastor to his. church and society. There 
was, however, one man among the members of the Baldwin 
Place Church, of great force of character and strength of 
will, who was attached to his church, and who was inclined 
to adopt the more modern theory that a good minister, wher- 
ever found, is a lawful prize. This was Deacon Ezra Cham- 
berlain. In company with one or two brethren, he visited 
Portsmouth, and had a frank, fraternal conversation with Mr. 
Stow, and discovered what the state of his feelings was, as it 
has been revealed in the extracts which we have already laid 
before the reader. The church of which he was the pastor, 
with all the spiritual prosperity which had attended it, was 
crippled in its resources, and it seemed exceedingly difficult 
to get out of the straits in which they found themselves. 
Calling together a few of the prominent men of the church, 
Deacon Chamberlain asked them in a plain, business-like way, 
what it would cost to remove their debt, and put their meet- 
ing-house in repair. He then, in an equally frank way, stated 
the great importance of securing at once a pastor for the 
Baldwin Place Church; that he had no doubt Mr. Stow 
would receive a unanimous vote, if he would consent to be a 
candidate ; that he would be more comfortably provided for 
than he could be in Portsmouth ; and he pleaded with them 
to release him from his pastoral connection, pledging himself, 
at the same time, to endeavor to raise a sufficient sum to pay 
off all their liabilities, and put their place of worship in per- 
fect repair. 



EARLY illXISTET IX BOSTON. 89 

Returning to Boston, Deacon Chamberlain called together 
some of his brethren, and related to them the circumstances 
connected with his visit to Portsmouth. "Now," said he, 
"brethren, we must open our purses, and raise what is re- 
quired to pay the debt of the Portsmouth church, and repair 
the meeting-house." There was a cheerful response to this 
demand, and the sum needed — which, as we shall hereafter 
see, was one thousand dollars, and which, in those days, was 
no inconsiderable sum — was in due time subscribed, and the 
church at Portsmouth, not without the severest pang of 
regret, consented to relinquish their claim on their pastor. 
The sorrow at parting was mutual, and there never ceased to 
be the warmest affection, the one for the other. 

A letter written by Dr. Stow, and read at a large gathering 
of the members, past and present, of the Baldwin Place 
Church, Feb. 13, 1865, is full of pleasant reminiscences of the 
early days of his ministry in Boston. The church were about 
to abandon the old sanctuary, around which clustered so 
many holy associations, and the letter, of which we quote a 
part, was prepared by him as his contribution to the memorial 
services. 

Coming direct from my New Hampshire home, one hundred miles 
away, I first entered Boston June 19, 1822, and stopped with Dr. Bald- 
win, then residing in the large wooden house at the north-west corner 
of Portland and Hanover Streets. To see that godly veteran had long 
heen my desire. "When he resided in Canaan, X. H., he had often 
preached in my native town ; and I had heard the older people speak 
warmly of his sermons in private dwellings, in barns, and in orchards, 
and of his baptizing the converted in streams, which had to me, on that 
account, a special sacredness. I had read everything from his pen that 
came in my way, and especially the quarterly numbers of the Massachu- 
setts Baptist Missionary Magazine, of which, for many years, he was 
sole editor. One of his printed sermons, read by my father to his fam- 
ily on a Sabbath evening, made a deep impression upon my mind, and 
was never forgotten. 

The man of God, upon whose hospitality I had no claim, gave me a 
cordial welcome, and assigned me what he pleasantly called "the 
prophet's chamber." To him, and the late Ensign Lincoln, both of 
precious memory, I was indebted "for means to defray the expense of 



00 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

my passage in the schooner Reaper, Captain Percival, to Baltimore, on 
my way to enter Columbian College, at Washington. Brother Lewis 
E. Caswell, then keeping a shoe store in Union Street, interested him- 
self for me, and, besides other favors, gave me a book, — Jones on the 
Trinity, — which I still have, and cherish as a memento of appreciated 
kindness. The Rev. Joseph Elliot, whom I had known in the coun- 
try, was then pastor of the Dudley Street Church, in Roxbury, and I 
walked out to see him, and acknowledge some tokens of his generosity. 
The long road, now Washington Street, was then called, in different 
sections, by different names — as Cornhill, Marlborough Street, New- 
bury Street, Orange Street, &c. The bookstores of Samuel T. Arm- 
strong, Lincoln & Edmands, Manning & Loring, were to me objects 
of interest, for I had read many a book with their imprint. I looked 
long at the Old South Church, for I knew its history in connection with 
the American revolution. As I passed onward, I was interested in the 
signs on shops and stores, and noted especially the frequency of one, 
" Licensed to keep and sell gunpowder." Beyond Boylston Market 
the buildings were mostly of wood, and scattered. Much of the space 
was devoted to vegetable and flower gardens, with shrubbery and fruit- 
trees. In what is now ward eleven, a city in itself, there was but one 
street, and the dwellings were very few. The South Cove, on the one 
side, and Back Bay on the other, were visible for a long distance. There 
was the isthmus, and I thought of Charles Wesley's hymn, — 

" Lo ! on a narrow neck of land ; " 

but, as I could see across the waters on either side, I could not exactly 
add, — 

" 'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand." 

As it was then high tide, I noticed at one point that the water on each 
side came nearly up to the rude fence. In the pastures were masses of 
conglomerate rock, or pudding-stone, and clumps of barberry bushes, 
and other shrubs. Little did I then dream that " the Neck" would, in 
two scores of years, receive such a dilatation, and have lavished upon it 
such an outlay for the homes of a swarming population. Roxbury was 
then too far off for " annexation; " now she is too near for her long to 
avoid that result. As I looked over the expanse of Back Bay, and 
marked the long line of beach, there was no prophecy indicating that the 
Second Baptist Church, nestled at the foot of Copp's Hill, would ever 
be transferred to a point then far out from the shore, and deeply buried 
in tide-water. 

I had heard of Dr. Baldwin's theory that "the way to learn to preach 
is to preach," but did not suppose he would call for a specimen of my 
proficiency. That thing, however, he did in his own peculiar way. On 



REMINISCENCES. 91 

Friday morning he inquired if I had ever preached. My answer was, 
" I have tried a few times." " Well," said he, " did you not succeed? 
This evening will be our weekly lecture, and I wish you to give them a 
plain New Hampshire talk, such as I used to give the folks up among 
your native hills. We are a plain people, and you need not be afraid." 

I had then more confidence in my ability to preach than I now have, 
and required not much urging in that direction. As the vestry on the 
south side of the narrow court, since widened into Baldwin Place, was 
small and inconvenient, the service was held in the house which you 
are now vacating, and I stood at the communion table. My text was 
Matt. xvi. 26 : " What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul"? Like some other beginners, I was not 
dismayed at the greatness of my subject. I was favored with "liberty," 
and had good attention ; but it did not once occur to me how presump- 
tuous I was in venturing to stand in the place of the great Baptist apos- 
tle of New England. Those who remember him will understand me 
when I say that in two days I had seen enougli of his meek gentleness 
and paternal cordiality to make me unembarrassed by his presence. At 
the close of the service he put his hand upon my head, and blandly said, 

II My young brother, you have a good voice. Go to Washington, and 
let Dr. Staughton tutor it a while, and I guess you will make a 
preacher." 

My college room-mate, James D. Knowles, and myself were guests at 
Dr. Baldwin's in August, 1825. On the Sabbath, August 21, Mr. 
Knowles preached in the morning, and Dr. Baldwin in the afternoon — 
his last sermon in Boston. That evening Dr. Baldwin bade us good 
night, and retired early, saying he must meet Deacon Bacheller and 
wife, of Lynn, at the steamboat wharf by half past three the next morn- 
ing. We heard the carriage at the door before daylight, and soon it 
bore away the good man and his wife, to return the following week under 
greatly changed conditions. The next Friday evening I preached the 
lecture in the Second Church, and was introduced to several members, 
who, seven years afterwards, welcomed me as pastor. I was stopping with 
Deacon Heman Lincoln, then residing in Lynde Street, when, at the hour 
of breakfast, news came of the sudden decease, on the 29th, of Dr. 
Baldwin, at Waterville, Me. As the steamer bearing his remains came 
up the bay, the bells of the city were tolled, and the crowd on the wharf 
was immense. The impression of that scene is deep and ineffaceable in 
my memory. Boston has since paid funeral honors to many a great 
man departed, but over no one have so many tears of affectionate 
grief been shed. Goodness commands a deeper heart-homage than 
greatness. 

During the ministry of Mr. Knowles as your pastor I was often in 
Boston, and preached for him many a sermon. From our earliest 



92 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

acquaintance we had been intimate. Few knew him as well as myself. 
Hundreds admired him for his superior talent, his pure taste, his literary 
culture, and his refinement of manners, but only those whom he admit- 
ted to his confidence understood the warmth of his heart. With the 
appearance of cold reserve and self-satisfaction he was really one of the 
most simple-hearted and child-like of men. Luther Rice once said of 
him in my hearing, " I could never get beneath his jacket." That was 
probably the feeling of many, but it was not true of all. He was far 
from demonstrative with his affections; but he was kind in spirit, and 
remarkably lenient in his judgment of others. I have never known the 
man whom I loved more, or who proved himself, on long acquaintance, 
worthy of greater respect. 

In February, 1832, I assisted him a whole week in a protracted meet- 
ing. The streets were almost impassable from the depth of the snow, 
but the attendance was good. The meetings were held principally in 
the vestry, and, as the pastor was not in good health, were chiefly under 
my direction. Prayer was heard, and good was done, but the apparent 
results were not large. 

Early in the following autumn, soon after the resignation of Mr. 
Knowles, I was invited by a committee to preach a few weeks in Bald- 
win Place, apparently as a supply, but, as I well understood, with refer- 
ence to something further. I was then pastor of the Middle Street 
Church, in Portsmouth, N. H., and my sense of justice to that dear peo- 
ple forbade my compliance with such a request, and I simply declined it. 
A few weeks afterwards an invitation came from both the church and 
society to become their pastor. That I could honorably accept, and my 
affirmative answer was promptly given. My first sermon was the week- 
ly lecture in the vestry, November 2, 1832, from Psalms lxxxv. 6 : 
"Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? " 
The sermon was intended as a key-note of my ministry in that place, as 
it had been in my previous pastorate, and many of you are aware how 
conformable to it were my labors. My first residence was at 39 Charter 
Street, in a house owned and long occupied by Deacon Joseph Woodcock. 
My first funeral was of a child of Lewis Smith, in Prince Street. The 
first couple I married were Samuel Parks and Eliza S. Fuller, in Port- 
land Street. 

At the time of my settlement, the northern part of the city contained 
very few foreigners. The nearest Roman Catholic place of worship 
was in Franklin Street. The population was dense ; and, though not 
of the wealthier classes, they were of the kind most easily reached by 
evangelical influences. The congregation was remarkably homoge- 
neous. There were no aristocratic families. None were above attend- 
ing a vestry meeting. It was refreshing to see how general and how 



INSTALLATION. 93 

cordial was the feeling of social equality. To the prevalence of that 
feeling I attribute, under God, much of my success in that field. I had 
no temptation to cater to the taste of any particular class ; all were 
about on a level, and every sermon, like the scythe of a mower, might 
shave to the ground. 

Very few of my hearers resided south of a line running from Long 
"Wharf through State, Court, and Cambridge Streets, to Cambridge 
Bridge. When the house was fullest, from 1834 to 1845, the great 
body of my people resided north of Elm and Portland Streets. I proba- 
bly had then more Americans every Sabbath than can now be found in 
the first ward. 

We shall have occasion hereafter to quote other portions 
of this letter. Resuming our sketch from the time when he 
commenced his labors in Boston, we find the same distrust 
of himself, and the same looking up to God for help, that we 
have noticed in other crisis periods of his life. " The charge 
I now assume is immense. I am inadequate to its duties. I 
would take hold of God's arm." The services of installation 
occurred on November 15, 1832. Rev. Professor Knowles, 
as was most fitting, preached the sermon. Rev. Dr. Sharp 
offered the installing prayer, and Rev. Dr. Hague gave the 
right hand of fellowship. 

Passing over the record of the next few weeks, we turn to 
his journal, commencing with the following date : — 



1833. 

January 1, 1833. Another year forever gone. How eventful it has 
been to me ! How full of anxious care, hopes, and disappointments ! 
My mercies have been numerous, and so have my sins. Have labored 
much, and apparently effected little. To-day I would bow down in 
gratitude and penitence before my Maker, Benefactor, and Preserver. 

that my heart may love him and adore ! 

March 30. Cheering intelligence. The Rev. Luther Crawford has 
accepted the invitation of the Portsmouth church to become their pastor. 

1 feel grateful to God for providing them so good and able a man. May 
he prove a blessing to that dear people. A heavy burden of care and 
responsibility is now removed from me. I can give myself more fully 
to my duties in Boston. Yet God forbid I should cease to pray for dear 
Portsmouth. 



94 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

April 19. Keturned from Portsmouth. Preached there last evening, 
at the installation of Rev. L. Crawford, as pastor of the Middle Street 
Baptist Church. Enjoyed a refreshing scene among old friends. Lord, 
bless both people and pastor. 

May 11. Called upon Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, arrived recently from Cal- 
cutta. Mr. Sutton is a missionary of the English Baptists ; has long been 
laboring in Hiudoostan. Mrs. Sutton went from this city as the wife of 
Brother Colman, who died at Cox Bazaar, Arracan. They came home 
in the Fenelon, together with Brother and Sister "Wade, and a Burman 
and a Karen, both converts. 

August 4. Baptized four this morning in our new baptistery. The 
season was truly a pleasant one, the congregation large and attentive. 

October 3. We have now eleven candidates for baptism. Should 
my health permit, I shall baptize them next Lord's day. Five are re- 
cent converts ; two are members of a Congregational church ; the others 
have had hope in Jesus for some time, but the Lord has now brought 
them out not only to see, but to feel, the claims of duty. We trust we 
are beginning to see good days. The church are more awake than I 
have seen them since my removal to the city. Lord, arouse them still 
more. 0, shed forth the vivifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and 
excite all our powers to more vigorous action. Let us see thy glory in 
the sanctuary, and rejoice in thy salvation. Thanks, everlasting thanks 
for what I now enjoy. Bring me forth as gold from the furnace, seven 
times purified, and more fit for the Master's use. 

October 6. Though feeble, performed some service in the sanctuary. 
Baptized two in the morning, in the afternoon gave them the right hand of 
fellowship. In the forenoon my dear Brother John N. Brown preached, 
" on the nature and importance of positive divine institutions." It was 
an excellent discourse. In the afternoon my equally dear Brother 
Bufus Babcock, Jr. preached upon the " adaptedness of the divine good- 
ness to lead sinners to repentance." It was truly refreshing to hear 
him. This has been a good day. Many of the saints have richly en- 
joyed it, and I trust the services may be rendered useful to the whole 
congregation. 

October 9. Returned from Salem, where, last evening, I assisted in 
setting apart Mr. John B. Cook and wife as missionaries to Siam. Pro- 
fessor Ripley addressed the people. Dr. Bolles gave them instructions, 
and I gave them the right hand of fellowship. 

Lord's day, December 15, 1883. Preached this morning from Psalms 
xlvi. 10, " Be still and know that I am God," with reference to the death 
of two young men, S. W. L. and W. C. Had some clear and soul- 
humbling views of the divine sovereignty — contemplated God as above 
all, managing with perfect ease and rectitude the whole machinery, 
material and spiritual, of his universe. How great is God! How per- 
fect ! 



THE EARNEST WORKER. 95 

December 81. This year is closing. Let me review, before God, 
its scenes — its cares, sins, blessings, and joys. Much have I to be 
thankful for, much to repent of. I have preached one hundred and 
fifty-five sermons, married forty couples, attended thirty-nine funerals, 
and baptized forty-three. 

To God I commend my labors, my family, my people, my whole self. 
I am a sinner, with no hope of heaven except through the merits of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The year just ended had been a memorable one in the life 
of Mr. Stow. He had begun to learn how pressing and with- 
out cessation are the cares which devolve on the pastor of a 
large city church. With his usual zeal, and earnest longings 
for the spiritual welfare of those intrusted to his care, he had 
thrown himself into his work. Dissatisfied unless he saw 
positive and visible fruits of his ministry, he taxed mind and 
heart in the preparation and delivery of his sermons. Those 
who remember the early days of his ministry in Baldwin 
Place recall with great vividness his personal appearance in 
the pulpit ; how his eye would light up with a sacred fire, his 
countenance beam with unwanted emotion, and his whole 
form become dilated into an appearance of dignity and solem- 
nity which both captivated and awed his hearers. Very 
rarely does the eloquence of the pulpit send forth a purer 
lustre than it shed from that holy spot where he stood who 
was " a burning and a shining light." And if his ministerial 
greatness showed itself in the sacred desk, not less did it 
appear in his pastoral work. It can be said of him, as Pro- 
fessor Park has said of William Bradford Homer, " He visited 
the sick chamber with literal sickness of heart, and, when 
called to attend a funeral, he felt as one personally bereaved." 
"He was desirous of seeing an immediate influence from 
every sermon, and was grieved if he did not see it. The 
truths which he uttered from the pulpit so absorbed his atten- 
tion, that they often awaked him by night." All through the 
year, to the record of which we have briefly adverted, his 
journal indicates the intensity of his desires for the religious 
welfare of his people, Every hopeful sign of the coming of 
a revived state of religion was watched with most lively 



96 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

interest. His whole being seemed to be pervaded with unut- 
terable joy and gratitude, if he saw anything like the tokens 
of the presence of the Holy Spirit. How often, in reading 
these outgushings of his heart's longings, we have been 
reminded of the words of the Psalmist, "I wait for the 
Lord ; my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My 
soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for 
the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the 
morning." A minister of less sensitive temperament would 
have dismissed these anxieties with the feeling that he had 
no right to indulge in them, if he had a reasonable conviction 
that he had done his duty. But Mr. Stow was ever placing 
the standard of duty higher and higher. Any approximation 
to what might once have been his ideal seemed to raise that 
ideal to a loftier plane, and in proportion as he struggled to 
reach it, it was ever eluding his grasp. No wonder that the 
laboring spirit made such great drafts on the depressed 
and often physically prostrated body. No wonder that the 
nerves, stretched to such a tension for days and weeks, felt 
the strain, and that, in the reaction, there came a gloom some- 
times as great as the exultation he had felt in the service of 
his Master. Again we lift the veil, and once more look on 
the record of his daily life, both inner and outer. 

1834. 

January 1, 1834. " The goodness of God endureth continually," 
whereof the preservation of my life, and the numerous blessings that 
encompass my path, are witnesses. Now entering upon a new year, I 
would devote myself afresh to God — would take the Lord anew as my 
portion, all my hope. May my growth in grace be more and more rapid. 

January 6. A day of general fasting and prayer among the church- 
es. May the prayers to-day be fervent, believing, and effectual, 
so God may be glorified and his churches benefited. For fourteen 
evenings in succession the church under my charge have met to con- 
fess, exhort, and praise, and pray. The effect has evidently been good. 
Backsliders have been reclaimed ; some sinners seem touched with a 
sense of their guilt. I trust they are not mere appearances, yet I hard- 
ly dare confide in them, so deceitful is the heart, and so easy is it to 
produce excitement, when there is no depth of principle. 



JOURNAL. 97 

January 21. This morning had some enlargement in prayer — some 
sweet sense of the divine presence. A portion only of the church 
seem awake and earnest in prayer; but God has heard them, and given 
some tokens of good. "My heart breaketh for the longing it hath" 
unto the salvation of God. Lord, enable me to confide wholly in Thee 
— vain is man. 

February 17th. O Lord, my Lord, one thing I desire of thee — 
that thou wilt convert sinners, and give me souls for my hire. Even 
if I am not permitted to see the fruit of my labors, let this be the fruit- 
age, that " I may rejoice in the day of Christ Jesus." Thou seest the 
multitudes that come to hear : shall they hear in vain ? Into thy care 
I commit my dear people, my labors for their good, and myself. Wilt 
thou sanctify me, and qualify me more fully for my work? Wilt thou 
not give effect to my labors here? Is anything too hard for thee? 

March 31. " Truly God is good to Israel." My people continue 
to be blessed with the life-giving influences of the Spirit. Since the 
meeting of the Boston Baptist Association, in September last, I have 
baptized forty, some of them the fruits of the venerable Baldwin's 
labors, others of the labors of my immediate predecessor, and not a few 
recent converts. Yesterday I baptized eight; others give evidence of a 
change of heart and life. Surely we have occasion to bless God, and 
magnify his name. Two young men have been very active in procur- 
ing an organ for the church at an expense of two thousand dollars, 
which was used yesterday for the first time. 

May 9. Just returned from New York, where I have been for the last 
two weeks, attending the anniversaries of various religious socie- 
ties. Preached three times, made two public addresses, saw much and 
heard much, enjoyed seeing many friends. Delighted again to recom- 
mence my labors. Regular pastoral duty I prefer to all things else. 

Lord's Day, June 29. This morning Brother Knowles preached for 
me, — an excellent discourse, — and I baptized three interesting candi- 
dates. Evening services were held ; eleven new missionaries were set 
apart to their work in Burmah and Siam, at the Baldwin Place Church. 
The throng was immense. 

July 2. This morning the missionaries sailed for Burmah. They 
were Messrs. Wade, Dean, Howard, Vinton, Osgood, and Comstock, 
with their wives. The crowd on the wharf was large, and the services 
truly solemn. At half past nine "the gallant ship was sheeted home," 
and she moved down the harbor with a mild but favoring breeze, while 
the brethren and sisters on board sang, " Yes, my native land, I love 
thee," &c. God speed them on their way. " Thy kingdom come." 

August 8. Left home on the 7th ult., with my dear E. Journeyed 
by a circuitous route to Windsor, Vt., Newport, N. H., &c, &c. Re- 

7 



98 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

turned last evening after a delightful visit to our numerous connections. 
Preached ten times ; delivered one temperance address. Walked and 
rode very much. Enjoyed good health, and revived in memory a thou- 
sand scenes of our childhood; lived over again the joyous days of 
youth. 

October 29. This evening had but half a congregation, owing to 
heavy rain. Preached from 2 Cor. v. 19 — " God was in Christ recon- 
ciling the world unto himself." Had labored hard Saturday to get hold 
of the glory of the declaration, but accomplished little. While preach- 
ing, the subject opened upon my mind with fresh splendor, but, cramped 
by my plan, I was utterly unable to present my views to the people. So 
deeply was my mind impressed with this grand theme, 1 wanted to preach 
it over again. Is God in Christ? Then let me be in Christ also. 
There the two extremes can meet. There the hostile parties can be 
reconciled, and there only. God was of old in the tabernacle, and in 
the holy place of his temple, ready to hold intercourse with men — 
those were shadows of this great truth, God in Christ. Am I in Christ? 
Then am I a new creature. Then am I not condemned. (Rom. viii. 1.) 
Then have I peace with God. (Rom. v. 1.) Glorious, glorious plan! 
Thus God retains his dignity, and shows his abhorrence of our rebellion 
and depravity. Thus he condescends without impairing his integrity, 
or conniving at our guilt, or jeopardizing the interests of holiness. I 
wonder not the proud, the pharisaical, the vicious, hate the doctrine of 
Christ in God. I wonder not that the humble, the broken-hearted, the 
holy admire and love it. 

We might have made more copious extracts from the jour- 
nal of Mr. Stow during this year ; but those given present us 
with good illustrations of the general tone of his feelings, 
and the character of the work in which he was engaged. 
With great conscientiousness and untiring industry he de- 
voted himself to his ministerial and pastoral work, and God 
set the seal of his approbation upon these labors. His con- 
gregations were uniformly large and attentive, and already 
his church had increased so much in numbers, that the ques- 
tion of colonizing began to be agitated. The opening of a 
new year finds him at his post, and he begins it with im- 
ploring anew the divine blessing upon his work. 



DECLINES THE SECRETARYSHIP OF THE CONTENTION. 99 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Elected Secretary of the Triennial Convention. — Declines. — 
Journal. — Correspondence. — Letter to the Baldwin Place 
Church. — Journal. 

1835-1836. 

The beginning of a new year found Mr. Stow cherishing 
the hope that the special favor of Heaven would be vouch- 
safed to him in the discharge of his duties. His service of a 
little more than a year had made him acquainted with his 
people, and his ready sympathy had brought him in close 
contact with their hearts. We know how strong were the 
ties of affection which bound the pastor and his church in 
the bonds of a union which only grew closer and dearer with 
the lapse of time. From the commencement of his ministry, 
the church felt that God had highly favored them in granting 
them so choice a ministerial gift. As his reputation extended 
and his influence widened, they felt a new pride in him, and 
were not backward in showing their appreciation of him. We 
shall observe, from the extracts which we continue to give 
from his journal, that he was growing in the estimation of the 
churches and the community. The interest which he took in 
the cause of foreign missions led the board of managers of 
the Triennial Convention to turn their attention to him as 
a suitable person to fill the responsible position of secre- 
tary ; and we shall find that, at the meeting held this year 
in Richmond, Va., he was elected to this office. He declined 
it, however, not because his heart was not in the work, but 
because his attachment to his people was so strong that 
he would not leave them for any other position to which 



100 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

his brethren might invite him, unless the call of God was 
too clear to be resisted. No man ever placed a higher esti- 
mate on the pastorate, or gave stronger evidence of his sin- 
cere love for ministerial work, than Baron Stow. 

1835. 

January 1, 1835. In the grace of God I am preserved to see the 
opening of a new year. Should my life be prolonged another year, may 
it be more completely devoted to God, and filled up with useful service. 

May 10. Returned, after an absence of four weeks, to Richmond, 
Va., where I attended the session of the Baptist General Convention. 
Services were delightfully refreshing. 

May 16. The Convention saw fit to elect me as one of their corre- 
sponding secretaries. My duty seems clear not to accept. I cannot 
leave the dear people over whom the Lord has manifestly placed me, 
and in whose eyes he has given me undeserved favor. I wish no higher 
honor than to be pastor of the Second Baptist Church. 

August 21. This afternoon a large meeting has been held at Faneuil 
Hall, to denounce, and if possible put down, the friends of the crushed 
slave. There seems to be a fixed determination that they shall be de- 
prived of the freedom of speech and of the press. All the churches, and 
almost every hall are closed against the discussion of the subject of sla- 
very. The cause of the oppressed is shut out, and with it the God of the 
oppressed. The number of names to the call of the above meeting is 
over fifteen hundred. Who will like to read his name there one hun- 
dred years hence ? 

September 22. This day twenty missionaries, accompanied by Mr. 
Malcom, as agent of the board, sailed for the East. The scene was de- 
lightful. O God, preserve thou them, and render them all extensively 
useful. 

Painful news from Lowell. Brother Enoch W. Freeman, pastor of 
the First Baptist Church in that town, died this morning, of cholera 
' morbus. 

For a week past I have felt unusual solicitude for the conversion of 
sinners. All seem thoughtless ; but God has given me desires such as 
I have seldom had. O that the church were more deeply impressed with a 
conviction of their responsibility upon this subject ! 

September 24. Attended the funeral of Brother Freeman. Preached 
from Num. xxiii. 10. It was as solemnly impressive a scene as I ever 
witnessed. Thousands in tears. He was tenderly beloved 'by his peo- 
ple, and his labors have been greatly useful. May we all be profited by 
this admonitory dispensation. 

October 19. Preached three times yesterday. Endeavored, in two 



JOUENAL. 



101 



sermons, to persuade my dear people to be in earnest in the pursuit of 
"I"' E ™«m g , preaehed the annual sermon before the Fathe ess 

and Widows' Soe.ety. Full house, but meagre collection. 
October 22. The Female Anti-Slavery Society met to-day, and were 

Aspersed by a mob! Mr. Garrison was seized, and, but for the inter 

"T A, thl7 yOT H T1 " aVe bee " r ° UShly h: " dkd ' if ™ ™ " 
PuUWs and th l" bdng ,he friend 0f the °™^ «l«e. 

Puttlusandthemeetmgat Faneuil Hall (August 21) together' Thi 

shin Ho" r n Wa ' Ch " ° ne that mUSt 8ive ~' <* ">y tew a a ! 
ship. How shall I acquit myself of their blood? How discharge mv 
duty to them ? Canst thou not grant me thv ITnW « 7 , arge m y 
to declare the whole counsel o God Bettfn L c',' ' ° ^^ m ° 
prayer. May they awake, and lie for God ,UrC " * ^ ° f 

and T 7 ember f L Nineteen ^^has my dear father been in heaven 
and / so much nearer the time when I shall meet him ' 

always loved each other, and, though very dissimilar in temneramen s 
have a ways agreed in feeling, principle, and action. Hi. e d „ "moral 
characteristic was humilitv. He thought li,n„ „c i • , „ , lng moral 
self always spoke ill, though ££$?£?£%*'£« ^ 



102 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

was bitterly cold. The day, I trust, has been profitable. As I looked 
upon the afflicted widow and children, my heart melted in view of God's 
goodness to me and mine. 

The journals of Mr. Stow abound in the most touching 
references to his mother. Her toils and sacrifices for him- 
self, his brother, and his sister, are often gratefully recorded. 
But what most impressed him, and left its savor longest on 
his heart, was the deep piety evinced in the careful training 
of her children in the way of personal purity and holiness. 
The first of the following letters was written to his mother 
after her recovery from a severe illness, which it was feared 
would terminate her life : — 

Boston, March 12, 1834. 

My vert dear Mother : I feel that we all have occasion to be 
grateful to God for his goodness in restoring you to health, and permit- 
ting you to continue still longer for the benefit of your children. We 
doubt not but you are prepared for a better world, and that for yourself 
it might be better to depart and be with Christ, but for the sake of those 
who need your society and counsel it is every way desirable that you 
should live many years. The Lord is good and wise, and blessed be 
his holy name forever and ever. Our prayer is that your affliction may 
be sanctified to your benefit, so that your holiness and comfort may be 
thereby promoted. 

At present we are enjoying a precious revival, and my labors are 
more numerous and severe than ever. Since October 1, I have bap- 
tized thirty-two, and many more are rejoicing in hope. God is merci- 
fully blessing my labors far beyond my highest anticipations. 

Many of the churches in this region are now blessed with encoura- 
ging revivals, and the prospect is that this will be a year of great in- 
crease to our Zion. O that the Lord's people would all awake and live 
not unto themselves, but for the glory of Him who died to redeem them ! 

To his brother-in-law, W. L. Beal, whom the following let- 
ter was expected to reach in Paris : — 

October 28, 1835. 

One week has passed since we gave you the parting hand, and 
while we are quietly housed at No. 11, you are doubtless tossing 
on the bounding billows. Our morning and evening prayer, as we 
bend around our domestic altar, is, that Heaven may give you a safe 
and a speedy passage, preserve you from all dangers, and soon return 



LETTER TO W. L. BEAL. 103 

you to the friends who love you, and whom you love. We cherish a 
strong confidence that it will be so. 

We have nothing new among us. All things move on quietly (since 
the not on the day you left, in which Mr. Garrison was endangered, but 
not injured), and I trust we shall be saved from evils which are dis- 
turbing and disgracing other cities. Several of the celebrated « ten 
hour men" have been apprehended as the " incendiaries " who have 
occasioned the late fires. Some have confessed, and against others the 
proof is clear. 

I have just returned from Worcester, where yesterday I preached 
the installation sermon of Rev. Mr. Aldrich. To-morrow I go to per- 
form the same service at Lowell for Mr. Porter. "Then," says E 
peremptorily, « you must stay at home." Really, I hope all' hands will 
let me alone, and allow me to labor on quietly in my own vineyard 
The Federal Street Church and Society have invited Mr. Ide. Should 
he accept, he will bear a part of these burdens. 

To the same : — 

November 28, 1835. 

We have "rumors of war" with France, and we sometimes feel 
apprehensive that President Jackson will, in his forthcoming mes- 
sage, apply the match to the train and create an explosion that will 
affect, not only your business, but the interests, temporal and eternal 
of millions. You will do well not to plunge deeply into engagements 
for the future, until you know how this troublesome matter is to issue 
Our treasury is to have a surplus of twenty-seven millions at the close 
of the year, and our politicians know not what to do with it, except to 
shoot it away at Louis Philippe and his refractory subjects. O how 
pitiful is this war spirit ! I loathe it from my inmost soul. So undigni- 
fied so unbefitting immortal, accountable beings, so opposed to the 
mild and benignant spirit of Christianity. 

The correspondence thus given shows the warmth of his 
domestic affections, and indicates that he was becoming more 
widely known, and that his services as an acceptable preacher 
were m constant requisition on public occasions. Returning 
once more to his journal, we give a few extracts which have 
reference to his ministerial life during the year 1836. 

1836. 

January 16. Since the great prayer day (first Monday in the month), 
the Lord has revived his work in many places. A brother just 



104 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

in has informed me of a gracious outpouring in Beverly. I rejoice, O 
Lord, that Thou art working anywhere ; but may I not still plead for 
Baldwin Place ? Last evening our prayer meeting was full, and more 
spirited than usual. Had I not so often seen such appearances vanish, 
I should be a little encouraged. I hope still in thy promises, thou 
God of mercy. 

January 23. This evening received from this dear church a fresh 
token of their kindness — a donation of two hundred dollars in money. 
On the first ult., I received from two young men of the society, as 
a New Year's remembrance, fifty dollars. I am oppressed by such 
kindness, and cannot perceive why I am thus distinguished. God has 
a purpose in it. O that I may never cease to be grateful to God or my 
friends ! I ought to labor with greater zeal and fresher courage. 

February 15. Having received an invitation from the Middle Street 
Church and Society in Portsmouth to return and again become their 
pastor, have to-day sent them a negative reply. I truly love that dear 
people, and should be glad to render them any practicable service. 

During the last seven days we have held a series of evening prayer 
meetings with special reference to the low state of religion among us. 
A few individuals in the church seem partially awakened, but the mass 
are still apparently unconcerned whether sinners be lost or saved. 

April 5. A letter from Sister J. H. P. brings the tidings that my dear 
brother Peter is no more. He was our youngest, and around him our 
hearts clustered. Of a peculiarly delicate constitution, he has been an 
object of much solicitude. Loving and lovable in his character, he en- 
deared himself to us all by a thousand ties. But now thou art in the 
society of the blessed. I cannot mourn for thee. Thou hast left a 
world of suffering, and found rest in heaven. I hope to meet thee, and 
rejoice with thee before the throne. May God support and comfort my 
dear mother. For more than twenty-two years she has watched over 
this son with tenderness and fidelity never surpassed. 

I know her heart bleeds at the separation. ^ O Thou who didst console 
the widow of Nain speak peace to her soul, and bid her rejoice in thee ! 
What a favor to have had such a brother ! to have him leave behind him 
not only an untarnished reputation, but the hope and prospect of a 
bright immortality beyond this vale, — 

" Where the loved and parted here below 
Meet ne'er to part again ! n 

April 14. I have been reflecting on the causes, in myself, of the un- 
fruitfulness of my labors. 

Is my preaching defective in doctrine, in illustration, in style, in 
spirit? Does my life contradict my preaching? Are the susceptibilities 
of my mind such that it would be unsuitable for me to see the effect of 



LETTER TO HIS CHURCH. 105 

my labors? Do I trust myself more than God? the means used more 
than the grace, which alone can make them effectual? Is my piety so 
defective that God cannot honor my efforts ? 

God forbid that I should murmur. God forbid that I should think 
too highly of self, or my efforts. I am unworthy. If I must labor on 
without seeing the good I do, my desire is to glorify God. 

May 1. This morning baptized seven. House thronged. Rev. 
Basil Manly, of Charleston, S. C, occupied my pulpit. A good, sensi- 
ble discourse. 

May 24. Just returned from a most affecting scene — the funeral of 
Rev. Bela Jacobs, pastor of the East Cambridge church. On Sunday 
morning, as he drove to the church in his chaise, the ringing of the bell 
started the horse, and he ran furiously until the wheel struck a building, 
throwing him out with such violence as to shatter his head most shock- 
ingly. He lived but one hour after. His wife survives him. The event 
has thrown a deep gloom over the whole community. To-day we have 
paid him our last sad respects. By request of the bereaved family and 
flock, I preached the discourse from Luke xxiii. 28 : " Weep not for 
me." The solemnity was overwhelming. 

July 15. Returned after an absence of forty days. Visited my dear 
mother at Evans's Mills, N. Y. Found her much better in health than 
I expected. Went to the grave of my beloved brother Peter. He 
sleeps in Jesus. Passed a few days at Saratoga Springs, Windsor, and 
Newport. Health very much invigorated. " I will sing of the mercies 
of the Lord." 

During this absence from home, he wrote to his church the 
following letter : — 

Evans's Mills, N. Y., June 15, 1836. 
Dear Brethren and Sisters : After a fatiguing journey of five 
hundred and fifty miles, we arrived safely at this place, and were cor- 
dially welcomed by friends whom we tenderly love, and from whom we 
have long been separated. The meeting was of that joyous kind 
which reminded me of the final meeting of pious kindred at the right 
hand of God in the kingdom of heaven. The pleasure, however, was 
embittered by one consideration. One member of the beloved circle 
was absent, and the breach was a wide one. Erom the window where I 
now sit I can see the little hillock that rises over the sleeping dust of a 
dear brother, whom I had not seen for seven years, and whom I shall 
never again see until I behold him in glory before the throne of God. 
But though he is gone, other friends, dear friends, are left, and among 
them a mother, to whom, for counsels, prayers, and examples, I owe 



106 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

more than to any other earthly being. Truly God is good, and no one 
of his creatures has such occasion as I have to be grateful for his pecu- 
liar kindness. So unworthy, so vile am I, that, whenever I reflect at 
all, I am amazed that God should show me any favor. While I have 
breath I will praise him, and when my voice shall be lost in death, 
praise shall still employ my emancipated and purified powers while 
eternity rolls. 

But, dear brethren and sisters, do not imagine that because I am in 
the society of endeared and affectionate kindred, I have forgotten the 
beloved flock " over whom the Holy Ghost hath made me overseer." 
Ko, no ; I love the church with an affection too intense to be modified 
or diminished by any circumstances. 

" For her my tears shall fall, 
For her my prayers ascend, 
To her my cares and toils be given, 
Till toils and cares shall end." 

The ties that bind me to you are delicate and strong. Your interests 
are mine, your consolations and sorrows are mine, and my daily and 
hourly prayer is, that God will watch over you and keep you unto life 
eternal. Yesterday, while thinking of you and endeavoring to lift up 
my heart in prayer for your peace and prosperity, I had some sweet 
reflections upon the Saviour's language in the tenth chapter of John : 
" My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and 
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall 
any pluck them out of my hands ; " also upon the words of the apostle, 
" Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." How precious 
are these assurances ! God has opened to us the fountains of strong 
consolation. He will take care of his people. " His foundation stand- 
eth sure, having this seal — the Lord knoweth them that are his." 

Allow me here, beloved, to make some suggestions upon some points 
touching your spiritual welfare. 

1. The importance of careful and prayerful study of the Scriptures. 
I know that in a former epistle I brought this matter before you, and 
also that the Lord's day before I left, I exhorted you " to search the 
Scriptures." But such is the importance of the subject that I cannot 
forbear again to present it, and entreat you to take diligent heed to the 
" sure word of prophecy," with which our merciful Father has favored 
us. Three reasons urge upon us this duty : — 

The Bible is the standard of truth. 

The Bible is the rule of our duty. 

The Bible is the source of spiritual nutriment. 
Let us not neglect this blessed book, but study it with care and with 
sincere desires to be instructed in all wisdom and righteousness. 



LETTER TO BALDWIN PLACE CHTTECH. 107 

2. The importance of prayer in the closet, in the family, in the 
church. Do any of the members neglect private devotions? Do any 
that are heads of families omit morning and evening worship around the 
domestic altar? If so, your pastor would affectionately inquire if it is 
right to neglect so important a duty? Do any forsake the assembling 
themselves together for purposes of social devotion? Dear brethren 
do not neglect the Friday evening prayer meeting. Last Friday even- 
ing we remembered you with not a little feeling, and though crowded 
with others into the cabin of a canal-boat, where we had no place for 
retirement yet we conversed upon your state, and raised our silent 
desires to the « God of all grace," that he would meet with you and bless 
you abundantly. Again I entreat you not to lose your interest in the 
prayer meeting. 

3 The importance of strict discipline. A church cannot prosper 
that connives at sin in its members, and that charity which shrinks from 
plain, faithful dealing with offenders is false charity, and deeply injuri- 

T , Vr ightf ° rWard C ° UrSe in ^^ in accordance with the 
rule laid down by the Saviour, is the only one that will insure his ap- 
probation. We have many delinquent members whose negligence re- 
quires attention If the efforts required by the gospel to reclaim them 
are unsuccessful, it is decidedly wrong to retain them as members. May 
God help you to be faithful in this duty. 

4 .The importance of carefulness and tenderness in speaking of one 
another. I greatly fear that in this respect there is not sufficient cau- 
tion. We ought not, indeed, to cloak sin ; but when our brethren and 
aster, do wrong, our first duty is to go to them and privately reprove 
them in the spirit of meekness and love. The path of duty in such cases 
is prescribed by the Saviour himself, and unless it be carefully and con 
scientiously followed, we shall all incur his displeasure. Brethren, III 

ZTn e& *T V T thlS ^ ? Let ParentS be P rudent in s P e ^ing of 
the faults of church members before their children, and let all be care- 
ful how they speak of their brethren and sisters before the ungodly 
The reasons I need not assign, for they must be obvious to every mind.' 

These few hints I send you, with the earnest prayer that God will 
render them useful in promoting your sanctification. My desire is for 
your perfect holiness. 

In conclusion, let me solicit your prayers not only that we may be 
kept from dangers m our journeyings, but also that we may be pre- 

ZZ r l° m SiD ' r d rendered ™ M WhGrever We ma ^ *>• Join with 
me, brethren and sisters, in seeking a blessing on the unconverted in 
he congregation. My soul groans over them with earnest longings for 
their conversion to God. 

Your affectionate pastor, 

Baron Stow. 



108 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

Writing to Deacon Samuel Beal, from Saratoga Springs, 
he says, — 

I am anxious to return, and shall not prolong my stay a moment 
beyond the necessities of the case. A wandering life I should never 
love. The life of a pastor is my desire and my highest pleasure. 
Where I have been the churches are exceedingly languid. The whole 
country has been overrun with the " new divinity," and the moral soil 
is burnt out so that no green thing will grow. In one place where there 
was last winter a protracted meeting of twenty days, and consequently 
a great excitement, called a revival, and where I expected to see some 
life, I found all dead and cold. I attended there a prayer meeting of a 
pleasant evening, and only seven were present I I longed to be trans- 
ported to Baldwin Place. Indeed, I am often with you in spirit, and I 
long to be present bodily. 

The record of his journal reveals to us with what earnest- 
ness he resumed his labors : — 

September 9. On the 6th ult. went to Providence, and delivered the 
annual address before the Philermenian Society of Brown University. 
Did not satisfy myself, and very much doubt if I did others. My busi- 
ness is not to deliver orations, but to preach the gospel. 

November 5, Saturday evening. The Sabbath is again at hand, and 
I have the prospect of pleading with sinners to be reconciled to God. 
Last Sabbath evening, as usual, I felt I could say no more. I had 
pleaded with Christians to labor for the conversion of sinners, and with 
sinners to forsake the service of sin, and become the disciples of Jesus. 
But now I feel Christ has given me more messages, and, by his grace, I 
will declare them. Will they do good? My preaching evidently har- 
dens hundreds, and increases their condemnation. " Who is sufficient 
for these things ? " Paul was not. Surely I am not. O God, I need 
thy grace to strengthen me. I cannot bear this mighty responsibility 
without thine aid. It is a comfort to lean on thee. In the pavilion of 
thy faithfulness I hide myself. O, put me not to shame. 

November 10. Commenced last evening a course of lectures on Old 
Testament facts, beginning with the temptation in Eden. Lecture-room 
crowded. My heart's desire is, that good may be done. 

November 12, Sabbath. Conversed half an hour this evening respect- 
ing entire consecration to God. What is it to be thus consecrated ? 
Wholly, wholly ! My own deficiencies appeared before me in a new 
light. How little do I live for God ! How much for other ends than his 
glory! If I were now called to exchange earth for heaven, I am sure I 
should not be prepared to engage in the one great employment of that 



JOURNAL. 109 

holy world with all my heart. A great work remains to be accomplished 
before I can say, " I am ready to be offered." 

November 15. Visited a lady who is near the end of her course. 
Her soul is in a most heavenly frame. Her chamber seems a nook of 
heaven — its very atmosphere celestial. Would I could take my con- 
gregation into such a scene, and show them the believer's joy in pros- 
pect of death. 

November 18. Visited the same lady again, and had another hour's 
sweet communion with her almost beatified spirit. Her husband has 
here found sweet peace in believing. The interview was truly refresh- 
ing. She says she can now die with increased felicity. Her companion 
she hopes to meet in glory. 

November 19. Had some intense longings that the sermons I am pre- 
paring for to-morrow may be blessed. I have labored carefully to speak 
on death in sin and Christ our life. "Wilt thou, O Lord, render them 
effectual ? Help thou my unbelief. 

November 21. Twenty years this day my dear father entered into 
rest. Blessed thought ! rest — an eternity of rest — eternally with God. 
Who would not labor and suffer here a few years patiently, with the 
prospect before him of eternal joy ! Feel exhilaration to-day. How- 
ever, it is not spiritual — it is owing to the society of endeared friends. 
The pleasures of religious company are great, exquisite. They will be 
perfect in heaven. 

November 28. Was told that a lady inquired of one of my family if 
I am as much devoted at home as in the pulpit. Important question. 
Does my life correspond with my preaching? Am I a consistent minis- 
ter? a consistent Christian? Lord, forgive my failures. 

December 24. Had some enjoyment to-day in preparing a sermon to 
be addressed to the children of pious parents. Feelings of peculiar 
tenderness have been awakened by a recollection of the instructions, the 
examples, and prayers of my own dear parents. I could not forbear 
bowing more than once before God in gratitude for such parents. How 
much, under God, do I owe them for their fidelity to me when young! 
Under other circumstances what should I have been ? My heart is full. 
Bless, God, my dear mother. Let her days be many, and her joys 
as numerous as her days. May she and my beloved father meet all 
their children in the mansions of eternal rest. Whether I shall be able 
to preach this sermon with affection and faith is yet to be seen. I pray 
for grace to honor God, and do good. 

A few individuals have recently professed to be the subjects of grace, 
who refer to my sermons as having awakened or comforted them. The 
fact is encouraging; but I am ashamed of myself when I think how un- 
grateful I am for such favors. I pray God to give me souls for my 



110 ' MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

hire, and when he gives them I fail to realize his goodness, or acknowl- 
edge the benefit. Wretch that I am, I overlook answers to prayer be- 
cause the persons converted are not those for whose salvation I have 
special desires. They are converted one by one, and not scores, as my 
pride desires. How humbled ought I to be before God! When I look 
at the evils of my own heart, the imperfection of my motives, my 
prayers, my preaching, my whole efforts, I cannot wonder God with- 
holds large blessings. Yet, after all deductions for selfishness, I trust 
I have some sincere, disinterested desires for the salvation of my dear 
people. J have had some enlargement to-day, and this evening, in 
prayer for them. I long to see the arm of the Lord made bare, and 
stretched out for the destruction of Satan's dominion. I long to see 
this church roused and quickened. I long for a descent of the Holy 
Spirit, producing a spirit of repentance, of confession, of forgiveness, 
brotherly love, prayer, faith, zealous individual effort. When shall this 
thing be ? 



IDEALS OF THE MINIS TEY AND THE CHURCH. Ill 



CHAPTER IX. 

The earnest Worker. — Longings for a Revival. — A useful 
Sermon. — The great Revival of 1838. — Gathering in the 
Harvest. — Missionary Discourse. — Death of Professor 
Knowles. 

1837. 

The year upon which we now enter presents but little va- 
riety in the outward life of Mr. Stow. We shall find that 
there is no diminution of interest on his part in the spiritual 
welfare of his church and congregation. Habit does not blunt 
his sensibilities, neither does it lead him to go through with 
his duties in a sort of perfunctory way, satisfied if he per- 
forms them to the general satisfaction of his congregation. 
Every year his ideal of the true minister of Christ becomes 
more lofty, and he groans in spirit because he falls so far short 
of reaching it. And, too, his conception of what a church of 
Christ ought to be, and, as he thinks, might be if it is properly 
trained, becomes more intelligent and spiritual; and, in his 
view, there is on earth no such society as a church of the 
Lord Jesus, formed after the model in his mind, such as he 
believes the New Testament, under the inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit, holds up to our view. With these high ideals 
of ministerial and church life, we do not wonder if sometimes 
his heart is pained as he reaches the conclusions to which he 
is brought by self-examination, and his observation of the 
church as he finds it in his actual contact with it. If his own 
soul burns with the fire of earnest longings for the reviving 
of God's work, he is grieved if the flame does not spread 
until the hearts of his church are all aglow with a zeal like 



112 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

his own. If anxiety for the conversion of men follows him 
to a sleepless couch, and he cannot shake off the burden, he 
wonders that they, for whom he bears these heavy burdens, 
are apparently so careless about their own condition and pros- 
pects. Men of cooler temperament and less ardent suscepti- 
bilities may be disposed to chide him, that he took on his 
heart the load which he carried, and to say, that with a firmer 
trust in the providence and spirit of God, he ought to have 
done his duty, and left results with a higher power. But he 
was so constituted that this was an impossibility. He never 
was satisfied that he had done all the duty which devolved 
on him, and which w^as in some sense the established condi- 
tion of success in his work. " When Zion travails, she shall 
bring forth sons." Anxious as he was to see those "new 
births," without which our Lord declared there could be no 
entrance into the kingdom of God, he saw, oftentimes, very 
little in the spiritual condition of the church that warranted 
him to expect any of these " new births." That his ministry 
was a very successful one, no one can deny. Can it be doubt- 
ed that one secret of this success is to be found in his quick 
sympathies, his tender solicitude, and his unwearied endeavors 
to raise the tone of religious feeling, both in his own heart 
and in the hearts of the members of his church ? 

January 6, 1837. Why do I desire the conversion of sinners ? There 
are three motives, either of which may influence me : — 

1. Love of approbation. A successful minister gains credit, at least 
among religious people. He has the name of being " very pious," " very 
faithful," &c. , and this becomes as much a snare to him as if he had the 
name of being "very learned" or " very eloquent." If his labors are 
blessed, he is in reputation with his people, and throughout the religious 
community generally, and his aid is sought abroad on important occa- 
sions. It is one mode of becoming popular. 

2. Benevolence — a desire for the happiness of others. Religion 
makes men happy. A benevolent heart, even though not itself reli- 
gious, may desire others to possess piety as the means of happiness. 

3. Love to God — a desire that God may be glorified in the repent- 
ance and return of his rebellious creatures to himself. 

Now, which of these motives is mine ? / am snre I desire the con- 
version of sinners. Why do I ? 



JOURNAL. 113 

I see a mixture of motives. After the most careful examination, I 
can say that I desire the glory of God ; I desire to see his Son hon- 
ored with a rich triumph. Whatever becomes of me, let God be glori- 
fied. I also desire the happiness of my fellow-men, and I fear the 
other motive too often intrudes itself. I fear I am selfish in many of 
my efforts. Yet I think I rejoice in the conversion of sinners, even 
though my own instrumentality be not acknowledged, and the converts 
join other churches. I have a vile heart, but my prayer is, that it may 
be sanctified. " Father, glorify thyself." 

February 2. Finished reading the Life of Samuel Kilpin, a Baptist 
minister, late of Exeter, England. He was a very holy and useful 
man. A man of much prayer and much action, he brought much to 
pass. How little am I like him in faith, self-denial, and industry! How 
few there are that exhibit such piety ! I look about upon the ministers 
of my acquaintance, and see but few who can be called spiritually- 
minded. I hear very little spiritual praying or preaching, and still less 
spiritual conversation. Truly there is something wrong in ministers, 
and we must ourselves repent and turn to God before we can expect to 
see refreshing works of grace among our people. " He that goeth forth 
and weepeth, bearing precious seed" &c. We do not weep as we sow 
the seed. Our hearts are not enough in the work. I fear we are too 
much seeking our own things rather than those of Jesus Christ. I am 
satisfied the ministry is not what it should be. I am far from being 
" a good minister of Jesus Christ." I ought to be immensely better. 

February 19, Sabbath day. Preached this morning on an exchange 
with Mr. Taylor at the Bethel, North Square. Made wretched work ; 
my soul was dry and senseless. In the afternoon God smote the rock, 
and the waters gushed forth. My subject, founded on Proverbs vi. 6, 
was, "The importance of providing in season for future necessities." 
I could hardly realize I was the same being who had labored so hard to 
preach in the morning. My desire was intense for the conversion of 
my dear people. I fear I do not cultivate enough tenderness as essen- 
tial to an effective manner. How altered are my views of preaching! I 
once thought the severe, denunciatory, dare-devil style and manner 
were those which would do the most good. I had a preference for the 
awful, and dwelt thereon too much. Possibly I may still have too 
much of it in my sermons, but my feelings and views are certainly 
changed. Now I see a man may be faithful, and yet affectionate. 
Everything should be baptized in love. O that I might conform my 
preaching to this truth ! 

February 24. Heard of a member of the church — one baptized by 
myself — who had left the meeting because of my "close preaching." 
Now and then I hear that my preaching is too close ; but I can learn 
8 



114 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

from no one definitively what is meant by too close. Do I not preach the 
truth ? Do I exaggerate the truth ? Is the fault in my manner ? I do 
not understand the complaint. God, thou knowest that my con- 
science smites me every day for unfaithfulness. I do not perform either 
my duty to the church or the world, and I suffer constantly under a sense 
of my deficiencies. Yet I fear there may be a want of tenderness in 
my manner. O that I may never forget I am a sinner, dependent on 
the grace I recommend to others ! May I never forget love is the grand 
solvent of hard hearts. May I ever keep before me the touching scene 
on Olivet — Jesus weeping over lost souls. Yes, my dear people, 1 
love you. 

March 15. Visited a worthy brother who is near his end. Found 
him in a delightful frame of mind — dwelling mostly upon that glorious 
idea, Christ is all. His charge to me as we parted was, "Preach 
Christ, preach him more and more." O that I may remember and 
profit by it! Unless I preach Christ more, I shall fail in my duty. 

April 5. Am told I have too much perplexing anxiety about matters 
which should be left to God. I am told it is my business to preach to 
the people, and visit them, leaving the results to my heavenly Master. 
Is it nothing to me whether my labors are a savor of life or of death ? 
Shall I cultivate a spirit of indifference ? My heart bleeds to see pro- 
fessors of religion so intensely pursuing the world, forgetful of their 
own vows and the condition of men about them. 

Returned from a trip south. Left on the 20th ult. Attended the 
Convention in Philadelphia for the formation of a Bible Society ; was 
one of the secretaries of the Convention, and witnessed the organiza- 
tion of the American and Foreign Bible Society. Visited College Hill 
(Washington) ; recalled days and scenes gone by. God has kindly re- 
turned me with health greatly invigorated. 

June 17, Saturday evening. Just returned from a scene of afflic- 
tion and mourning. Mrs. M., one of my congregation, wife of Mr. N. 
M., about an hour since breathed her last. During her illness of sev- 
eral months I have visited her often — for the past four weeks nearly 
every day. I believe her to be a Christian, though her excessive timid- 
ity and distrust of herself made her diffident in the expression of her 
views and feelings. She died very tranquilly, assuring me that she 
rested wholly on Jesus for acceptance, and was ready to depart. The 
scene was solemn and impressive. 

June 19. Fifteen years ago to-day I first set foot in Boston. Little 
did I then apprehend the scenes that were before me ! Through what 
changes have I since passed ! 

June 24 — Evening. Wrote a letter to a member of my congrega- 
tion whose wife has recently died, endeavoring to direct his attention to 



JOURNAL. 115 

Christ as a friend. His wife was an amiable Christian. Afterwards I 
reviewed my own life, and found abundant occasion for humility and 
repentance. Heading a few pages in the Life of Dr. Payson, I was 
struck and affected by a remark of his, that " he was never happy until 
he relinquished all desire to be distinguished." My ambition to be 
great has cost me many hours of sorrow, has prompted me to do and 
say many things of which I have afterwards repented, and has made 
me abhorrent to myself. O that, like my Master, I M was meek and 
lowly in heart" making myself of "no reputation! " I wonder God 
does not hate me ; I am so hateful, it amazes me how he can love me. 
But for the depth of the riches " both of his goodness and loving- 
kindness to usward," I should despair. 

June 25. Preached this morning for the First Church. Their pastor, 
Rev. William Hague, has, the past week, left them to become the pastor 
of the First Church in Providence. I feel his removal to be a personal 
affliction, for I had become much attached to him, and hoped long 
to labor by his side. 

This afternoon preached on Conversion ; warned and entreated my 
dear people as faithfully and affectionately as I knew how. I know 
not how I could say more in so short a time, or say it more kindly. 

July 19. A review of my life, especially since I commenced preach- 
ing the gospel, has filled me with mortification. How little have I 
cultivated personal holiness ! How much have I been actuated by self- 
ish motives ! How imperfect my services as an ambassador of the 
heavenly King ! I wonder often I am still allowed to preach the gospel, 
still kept alive. I should despair at once were it not for the perfect 
righteousness of Christ. He is all in all. O that I may " win him," 
and " be found in him." 

" Jesus, I throw mine arms around, 
And hang upon thy breast; 
"Without one gracious smile from thee 
My spirit cannot rest." 

July 22. Some pleasant reflections while meditating on the offices 
of the Comforter, and was almost disposed to throw aside my prepara- 
tion for the morrow morning, and give these views to my people. 
There is a way in which he comforts ; there are reasons why he com- 
forts. Lord, fix thou this subject in my mind. Enable me to under- 
stand, feel, and illustrate it. 
October 5. 

" Trials make the promise sweet, 
Trials give new life to prayer." 

Within a few days I have been subjected to unwonted trials. I 
doubtless need them. The correction is administered by a Father. O 



116 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

that I may have grace to endure them, and not sin against God, and 
to improve them so that they may subserve my sanctification ! Lord, 
purify me by whatever means thou choosest. Unless I am holy I 
cannot see thee. 

October 12. A ray has pierced the darkness. A young lady called 
to-day, desiring instruction, and expressing some hope, recently ob- 
tained, in the pardoning mercy of God. Her perceptions are dim, and 
her impressions rather indefinite. Her case is encouraging. This 
afternoon I visited one of the loveliest young men of my flock (S. O. S.), 
who is ill of typhus fever, and, I fear, must soon die. He has no hope 
in Christ. He has been a very attentive hearer, and a member of the 
Bible Class. More than once have I conversed with him respecting 
the interests of his soul. He has known his duty. He has had time, 
yea, a favored season ; but now his reason is gone, and his probation 
seems ended. God gave me a spirit of prayer for him, and I had 
some glimpses of hope that prayer might be answered in his restora- 
tion to life. How ought I to live, preach, and pray ! My people are 
hurrying off to the bar of God unprepared to meet him. May not the 
guilt of unfaithfulness attach to me. 

October 13. This morning at five o'clock my young friend men- 
tioned above ceased to breathe. The family, and a large circle of 
friends to whom he was peculiarly dear, are deeply afflicted. May 
I feel the force of this admonition not only to be ready, but to use all 
means to get others ready also. 

October 21. Prepared a sketch of a discourse from Matt, xxiii. 27 
— " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem." Have felt somewhat as I imagined 
Jesus felt when from his full soul he uttered that moving lamentation. 
My heart yearns over my people, and longs for their salvation. How 
precious are their souls ! How have they been warned and entreated 
to fly to Christ for protection ! and how have they refused ! Lord, show 
thou me what more I can do to persuade them to come to thee. How 
different should I preach as to doctrine and manner? Wouldst thou 
have me do more by private effort with individuals ? Is there no way 
that these souls can be addressed, so God will render the truth effectual 
to their conversion? I can tell my brethren what they ought to do. 
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Am I doing my full duty? " All 
my help must come from thee." 

October 24. Ten years ago to-day I was ordained to the work of the 
ministry, and took upon me those vows which I have thus far so imper- 
fectly fulfilled. Five years ago this evening I resigned the pastoral 
charge of the church in Portsmouth for the purpose of removing to this 
city. I was to-day asked by one of my family if I had never regretted 
the step. I could unhesitatingly reply in the negative. I have never 



A USEFUL SEEMOK. 117 

doubted that I was required by God to remove. The trial was a sore 
one, such as I hope never again to suffer. I do not think I shall ever 
love a people as I did them. 

December 31. Nineteen years to-day I was baptized. This morning 

I baptized seven interesting young people. The house was crowded, 
and the season a solemn one. This evening I preached from the words, 

II Boast not thyself of to-morrow." Felt deeply, and had some enlarge- 
ment. O that my dear people were wise ; that they understood this ; 
that they would consider their latter end ! 

Few sermons in the course of the ministry of Mr. Stow 
were followed by such results as attended the preaching of 
the one here referred to. Some years after its delivery, he 
wrote a little sketch of the circumstances under which it was 
prepared, and the effects which followed the preaching of it. 
The sketch was entitled A Useful Sermon. 

" In the summer of a church in one of our Atlantic 

cities was in a very languid condition. The attendance on 
public worship was large, but meetings for social devotion 
were thinly attended, and the services were heavy and spirit- 
less. The little life of the church seemed to be concentrated 
in a few who continued to walk by faith, though nearly dis- 
pirited, while the great majority were cold and worldly. The 
pastor had for months been oppressed at heart by the un- 
promising state of things, and at times had felt that he must 
retire from a field where severe labor had been productive of 
so little fruit. 

" After earnest prayer for divine direction, he called together 
six of the more prayerful and active brethren, stated to them 
his feelings, and proposed that they should hold weekly a 
private meeting for conference and prayer, with special refer- 
ence to a revival of piety in the church. The proposition was 
cordially received, and the whole seven, upon their knees, 
gave themselves to the work. It was then agreed to invite 
two more to join them at the next meeting. They came, and 
two were added at every successive meeting. In this way 
the number slowly increased through a period of four months. 



118 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

The meetings were held in private dwellings ; few, except 
those personally invited, knew of their existence. The pastor 
was encouraged, especially as he found the weekly prayer 
meeting more fully attended, and better sustained in its de- 
votional services. Towards the close of the year, these pri- 
vate meetings were marked with a peculiar tenderness and 
the spirit of wrestling prayer. 

" On Saturday, December 30, the pastor rose at a very early 
hour, and commenced the preparation of a discourse for Sab- 
bath evening, from the words, ' Boast not thyself of to-mor- 
row, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.' As 
it was to be the last day of the year, he wished to make a 
solemn appeal to the unconverted upon the danger of presum- 
ing on the future. Scarcely had he written the introduction, 
when he was called to visit an estimable young man, a friend 
of his earlier years, who was regarded as near his end. It 
was not yet daylight, but he hastened to the chamber of the 
sufferer, and passed two hours with him, endeavoring to direct 
his attention to the Saviour, whom he specially needed. 
There he heard from the lips of the dying, words of apparent 
contrition and agonizing desire, which made upon his mind 
an ineffaceable impression. He returned to his sermon with a 
practical commentary upon his text which was better than 
any reasoning of his own. As yet, however, he knew not the 
purpose of God in thus burdening his mind with a painful 
fact. In a few hours he learned that the young man was 
dead. 

" The next morning he preached from the words of Christ to 
the cured lunatic, ' Go home to thy friends, and tell them how 
great things the Lord hath done for thee,' showing the obliga- 
tion of the Christian to labor for the spiritual good of his 
kindred. After service he was summoned to a scene of un- 
utterable sorrow. A young lady of his congregation, without 
any apparent cause, had terminated her own life. How dread- 
ful was that place ! There was anguish indeed. His burden 
before was nearly insupportable. There his heart was crushed. 
What did God mean by this ? 



RESULTS OF THE SERMON. 119 

" In the evening, with such emotions as he had never pre- 
viously known, he preached the sermon, prepared under a 
mountain pressure. The house was densely filled; an un- 
usual solemnity pervaded the congregation ; but it was not 
known that in all the crowd there was a single anxious in- 
quirer. The discourse was one of the simplest in both method 
and style ; but somehow it secured unwonted attention. While 
the preacher was describing and illustrating the uncertainty 
of life, a lady, overcome by the strength of her emotions, was 
borne insensible from the house. A silence unbroken by an 
audible breath reigned, and paleness came over many a face. 
At the close of the service a minister present said to the 
pastor, 'You will hear from that sermon.' 

" The next day, the first Monday in the year, according to 
its custom, the church met for special prayer. The lecture- 
room was filled ; there was a general melting down before 
God ; prayer was offered with many tears. In the evening 
more came than could find admittance. It was then evident 
that the Holy Spirit was acting with power upon the minds 
of the unconverted. Meetings were multiplied, and constant- 
ly thronged. There was excitement, but it was deep, still, 
and effective. Every sermon, every exhortation, seemed to 
have unusual power, and do unwonted execution. The re- 
vival spread to other churches, and large accessions were 
made to the churches. The number added to that one 
church during the year, by profession, was one hundred and 
seventy-seven, and in five years, from the commencement of 
the revival, five hundred and two. 

" The pastor did hear from that sermon, and often to his 
amazement. He had the pleasure of welcoming into the 
church more than one hundred who referred to that discourse 
as the means of their awakening and conversion. Several 
others, who professed their faith elsewhere, made the same 
reference. The hand of God was perceptible in the whole 
matter. To him belongs the glory." 



120 MEMOIR OF DK. STOW. 



1838 

We now enter upon one of the most eventful years in the 
ministry of Mr. Stow. The intensity of his longings for the 
outpouring of the Spirit upon his people has been apparent in 
the record which he has left us of his inner life during the 
past year. Such desires as he felt, and such prayers as, for 
so many months, he had been offering, were clear proofs that 
a higher power had been exerting its influence in his soul. 
"We are not surprised to learn that the blessing so eagerly 
sought, so patiently waited for, is at last bestowed. As we 
have already learned, the last Sabbath of the year, which was 
also the last day of the year, was one of great solemnity. 
Never, probably, had Mr. Stow preached a sermon which 
was more manifestly attended with a special " unction from 
the Holy One" than this sermon at the close of the year 
1837. In a record of what he knew to be the actual results 
which followed its delivery, he has told us, in 1857, that 
"more than one hundred subsequently professed Christ, who 
.were awakened under that semion." In the historical sermon, 
also, which he preached, September 11, 1861, on the occasion 
of the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Boston 
Baptist Association, he says, " In 1831 and 1838, several of 
the churches (and prominent among them was the Baldwin 
Place Church) were richly refreshed and augmented in 
strength, both revivals furnishing an unusual number of 
candidates for the ministry." His own words convey to us 
a better idea of this " time of refreshing," which the Baldwin 
Place Church enjoyed, than any we can select. 

January 1, 1838. God has mercifully permitted me and my family to 
see the opening of a new year. "With him I would iJ renew covenant." 
To him I would dedicate myself — myall. To him I would look for 
grace to carry me forward in every duty, serving him with all my pow- 
ers. I wish to live wholly- for him, to spend every day and every hour 
in advancing his glory. 

January 7, Lord's day. A most impressive day. House exceedingly 
full, and the hearers unusually attentive. My dear Brother Knowles 
preached this morning from the words, " Behold, now is the accepted 



SERMON ON THE EFFICIENCY OF PRIMITIVE MISSIONS. 121 

time," &c. The discourse was very pertinent, pointed, and impressive. 
Afternoon I preached from Luke x. 11. Evening prayer meeting was 
held in the church, which was filled to overflowing. The oldest breth- 
ren say, they "never .saw the like before." Probably a thousand per- 
sons were present. Many excellent things were said, and very many 
fervent prayers were offered. The indications are encouraging. May 
we all do duty judiciously and faithfully. My soul longs especially for 
the conversion of the young. 

January 15. Truly " God is good to Israel." My dear people are 
now sharing in the tokens of his special goodness. Many of the mem- 
bers have an unusual spirit of prayer. A considerable number have 
repented and turned to God. Many others — I know not how many — 
are inquirers. Verily God is in our midst by his Holy Spirit. To him be 
all the glory. May the good work go through the congregation. 

February 10. Of all God's servants I have most occasion to be hum- 
ble and thankful. The past week has been distinguished by special dis- 
plays of God's power and grace. The good work is spreading all over 
the city, and God is multiplying on all sides the trophies of his power. 

February 25. Baptized twenty, three of whom are men advanced 
in life. The church was thronged as I have never seen on a Sabbath. 

March 3. Read my journal for the past three months. One feeling 
has been very uniform — a desire for the conversion of my dear people. 
More than one hundred tell me they have been converted, and my soul 
would praise the Lord for his goodness. But how many still remain ! 

March 18, Lord's day. Baptized twenty. A good day. 

March 25. Still more additions. Baptized twenty, making seventy- 
one since the meeting of the association in September. God is indeed 
gracious. The work is still in progress. 

April 8. Baptized twenty-four. Many more are waiting to follow. 
For the last three months my labors have been severe, but God has 
strengthened and upheld me beyond my expectations. If any minister 
on the footstool has occasion to be humbled and grateful, I am he. 

April 15. Twenty-two were baptized. A most interesting group. 
" Not unto us, not unto us," &c. 

April 22. Baptized twenty-one. 

In the midst of all these delightful but exhausting labors, 
Mr. Stow found time to prepare his able sermon on the 
Efficiency of Primitive Missions, which he preached before 
the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the 
United States, April 25, 1838, in the Oliver Street Baptist 
Church, New York. The effect of the scenes through which 



122 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

for many weeks he had been passing, and of the baptism of 
the Holy Spirit, which himself and so many of his beloved 
flock had experienced, is everywhere traceable in this dis- 
course. The theme which he proposed to discuss was this : 
" What were the causes which produced the marvellous re- 
sults which attended primitive missions ? " If one would see 
how differently men reason on this subject, according to the 
stand-point which they take, and according to the bias of the 
moral character, which always has so much to do in reaching 
our conclusions, let him read the famous chapters fifteen 
and sixteen of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman 
Empire, and this sermon of Baron Stow's. We select a few 
passages from the discourse, which indicate the fervor of his 
spirit, and the glow of enthusiasm with which his soul was 
fired. 

Yet, notwithstanding circumstances are so much in our favor, they 
made advances in the production of effect such as we have never wit- 
nessed. "Without the world's favorite instrumentality — learning, elo- 
quence, wealth, arms — nay, with all these leagued against them, and 
in the face of them all^ the primitive church expanded, and achieved 
triumph after triumph — all the triumphs of truth and holiness. All 
the apparatus of torture and death was brought out, and arrayed in her 
path to arrest her progress ; but heedless of its terrors, she moved for- 
ward to the consummation of her lofty purpose. Some of her most 
malignant foes became her devoted champions, and even martyrs, and 
every day new territories were added to her growing empire. Persecu- 
tion often kindled her fires, and with her blood she as often extinguished 
them. Her progress from place to place was marked by the dethrone- 
ment of idol deities, and the fall of idol temples. On the high places 
of idolatry she planted her banners, and in all lands known to the mer- 
chant, the traveller, the warrior, the trophies of her power were multi- 
plied. " So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." 

Hereafter we shall see that Mr. Stow was a sincere mourner 
over the almost innumerable divisions of the Christian church. 
He fondly looked forward to the coming of the day when 
the prayer of our Lord would be answered, " that they all 
may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that 
they may be one in us, that the world may believe that 



UNITY OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 123 

thou hast sent me." It is thus that he speaks of the early- 
Christians : — 

There were no clashing creeds, no sectarian bickerings, no rival 
interests, no party plottings and counter-plottings, no wasteful ex- 
penditure of time, and feeling, and moral energy, in attempts to 
maintain and fortify party positions. "By one Spirit" they were 
" all baptized into one body," and they regarded themselves, and were 
regarded by all around them, as members of one harmonious and de- 
voted brotherhood. Christ was the centre of attraction, around which 
they rallied and united, and, like the radii of a circle, the nearer they 
drew to the centre, the nearer they were to each other. Assimilated by 
the grace of God, and fused and welded by the fires of persecution, their 
affinity and cohesion rendered them the admiration of the world that 
hated them, and gave them a moral power which the modern church 
does not possess, and never will possess, until brotherly love shall re- 
sume its ancient influence, and become, as it then was, a "bond of 
perfectness," — until " the multitude of them that believe " shall be "of 
one heart and one way," keeping "the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
of peace." O, when will the "whole family " of Christ become one, and, 
with " hearts knit together in love," discontinue their petty contro- 
versies among themselves, and, following their one Leader, converge 
and direct their whole energies towards the one point — the salva- 
tion of the human soul? We may speculate as we please about 
the incidental advantages of our division into sects or denomina- 
tions, comparing them poetically to the prismatic hues of the rainbow, 
and from the pulpit and the platform shouting in ecstasy, " E pluribus 
unum ! " but the practical man will tell us that if we would dissolve 
the intractable substances of earth, we must have the colorless ray of 
virgin light. 

Another extract, which we give, furnishes additional evi- 
dence that he was living amid revival scenes when he wrote 
it, and that his own soul was enjoying those visitations of the 
Holy Spirit which he so devoutly prayed might be granted 
to the whole church of God. 

It has been remarked respecflhg a modern preacher, whose labors, 
while living, were eminently blessed in the conversion of his hearers, 
and who, " being dead, yet speaketh," that the secret of his success lay 
in his devotional habits. He dwelt on the sides of eternity, and carried 
with him into his pulpit, and into all his intercourse with his people, the 
very atmosphere that circulates around the throne. Hence a member 



1*24 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

of his congregation once declared, "When our pastor prays, it is 
right into the heart of God. When he preaches, it is right into the heart 
of the sinner." This description, true perhaps of a few moderns, is 
truer still of the great body of the ancient preachers. They had pe- 
culiar access to the hearts of men, because they had peculiar access to 
the ear and heart of God. With him and the glories around him they 
were familiar, and ever as they came forth from his presence, they 
brought to the people, fresh from the tree of life, the leaves that are for 
the healing of the nations, — sparkling from the river of life, the wa- 
ters " clear as crystal," that purify the unholy, and refresh the way- 
worn and weary. 

Another pastor, whose success was proverbially great, when asked 
how it happened that under his ministry " the word of God "so " grew 
and multiplied," returned the significant answer, " I have a praying 
church." The early church was eminently a praying church. The sin 
of indevotion could not be laid to her charge. The oft-repeated and 
unanimous request of the apostles, " Pray for us," " Pray for us that 
the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified," was never 
made in vain. Indeed, the request scarcely needed to be made. The 
Christians of those days waited not for a specified season, but at all 
times and everywhere they remembered before God the cause of mis- 
sions, and the self-denying missionary laborers. In the closet, in the 
family, in the church, the burden of their prayer was, "Thy kingdom 
come." Every prayer meeting was a concert of prayer for the universal 
spread of the gospel of Christ. And theirs were the effectual, fervent 
prayers that avail much. They knew how to touch that delicate chain 
which Jesus has passed over the throne, and by which the faintest spark 
of holy desire maybe easily transmitted; and through it they sent a 
continual stream of invisible but powerful influence away into the 
deepest recesses of heathenism. 

The whole discourse, from beginning to end, glows with 
the ardent love and the burning zeal which are kindled in 
the soul when it is "baptized with the Holy Ghost and with 
fire." It is not difficult for the imagination to reproduce the 
scenes through which its author was passing when he was 
penning these eloquent passages^ The study in which they 
were written was his closet of prayer. Many a poor sinner, 
burdened with the weight of transgression, had found his 
way into that consecrated room, and in the great sorrow of 
his troubled heart had cried out, " Sir, what must I do to 
be saved ? " What the preacher had gleaned out of the word 



THE EEVIVAL OF 1838. 125 

of God, as evidences of the operation of the divine Spirit, he 
now saw, in actual demonstration, with his own eyes. It was 
reducing theory to practice. Here were the rough materials 
which the heavenly Architect was moulding, shaping, and 
polishing, that they might be introduced as " lively stones " 
into the temple of God which he was rearing ; or, to change 
the figure, he who " commanded the light to shine out of 
darkness " was bringing these precious souls " out of dark- 
ness into God's marvellous light." He who gazed upon the 
transformation could but stand still, and admire the wonder- 
working power of Him " who spake and it was done," say- 
ing, " Let there be light, and there was light." Blessed is the 
minister of Christ, who, in the earlier years of his professional 
life," is permitted to witness such scenes. He feels the sacred 
impulse which comes from them so long as he continues to 
preach the gospel. His commission seems clothed with new 
authority, and the credentials which he bears from the eter- 
nal throne have enstamped upon them the seal of a divine 
authority. 

If we mistake not, Mr. Stow always regarded the revival 
of 1838 as the purest, the freest from the admixture of those 
human imperfections which so often mar the beauty even of a 
work of the Spirit of God, that he was ever engaged in. His 
own heart was thoroughly interested in the work, and he had 
the indescribable satisfaction of seeing a large number of the 
members of his church cooperating with him. The ears of men 
were open to hear the truth, and their hearts to receive it in the 
love of it. The congregation gave to their pastor their sincere 
respect and their warm affection. Their confidence in his 
piety, and their belief that he was in earnest in seeking their 
spiritual welfare, were entire. As a preacher, there was every- 
thing about him that arrested their attention. His pulpit 
services were full of " unction," and the hundreds of admir- 
ing listeners who gathered within the walls of his church, 
Sabbath after Sabbath, were constrained to acknowledge that 
a power higher than human had taken possession of that con- 
secrated soul, and that those lips had been touched with a 



126 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

coal from off the altar of God. We doubt not that very many 
who recall these hallowed services will say that, for solemnity, 
and power, and permanent effect, they have never seen them 
surpassed, perhaps never equalled. 

At the meeting of the Triennial Convention, when the ser- 
mon on the Efficiency of Primitive Missions was preached, 
his honored and cherished friend, Professor J. D. Knowles, 
was present. Without doubt he had listened to this dis- 
course of his successor in the pastoral office. No one could 
have rejoiced more sincerely than he over the fervid elo- 
quence and the earnest spirit of the preacher. Their ac- 
quaintance and friendship dated back many years. They had 
been fellow-students in college. Both had been editors of 
the Columbian Star, the organ of the General Convention. 
The fortunes and successes of each had been dear to his 
brother. Long they hoped to labor, side by side, although 
in different departments of their Master's work. But when 
Mr. Stow returned to his home, and again girded himself 
afresh for ministerial toil, he received the mournful intel- 
ligence that his predecessor, and the friend of so many years, 
had been suddenly stricken down by a mortal disease. 

May 9. Sad, sad news. A messenger has just arrived from Newton 
announcing the death of my dear Brother Knowles. O God, can it be? 
For nearly sixteen years we have been as brothers, we have had each 
other's love and confidence. Now he is cut down ; and why am I 
spared? The better man is taken, the worse left. "Verily thou art 
a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." I heard on 
Monday (the 7th) he was not well ; threatened with varioloid or small 
pox, the physician could not determine which. The next intelligence 
is of his death. How sudden ! how unexpected ! Lord, pity his poor 
wife ; sustain her, and comfort her. He was a good man. Surely he has 
found rest in the bosom of God. The admonition to me is emphatic. 
" Set thy house in order." 

May 13, Lord's day. Preached in the morning from 2 Cor. iv. 18 — 
on " the eternity of things that are not seen." Afternoon, preached a 
funeral discourse for my dearly beloved brother, James D. Knowles, 
from the words, " That disciple whom Jesus loved" — John xxi. 7. It 
was a difficult service, not because there was little to be said, but be- 
cause I was disqualified, by oppression of feeling, to say it. I have 



JOURNAL. 127 

intended to do him justice. If I have failed, may some abler hand be 
brought to the effort. I never thought to be called to render this ser- 
vice. Often has it occurred to me that he would preach my funeral 
discourse. On earth I shall never find another such friend. He was 
to me more than friend — a brother " born for adversity." My counsellor 
is taken from me. My God, I come to thee. I have leaned too much 
on him, and thou hast cut him away with one fell stroke. Henceforth 
let me lean more fully on God. 

May 24. Visited Newton. O, how desolate ! Stood over the grave of 
my brother, my dear brother, and thought of the resurrection. We 
shall meet again. Prepare me for that meeting,, and eternal glory, O 
God, my God. 



128 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 



CHAPTER X. 

Reaction. — Letter to Deacon S. Beal. — Physician prescribes 
Eest. — Continued Labor. — Colony sent to Bowdoin Square. 
— Effect on his Mind. — Trip to Europe proposed. — Em- 
barkation Correspondence. — Journal. 

1838-1841. 

It is not strange that, after a season crowded with so many- 
exciting incidents, and the constant strain made upon him 
by the vast amount of work which the revival made abso- 
lutely necessary, Mr. Stow should feel a craving for rest and 
recreation. It is not, moreover, strange that the nature upon 
which he had made such continuous and long-protracted 
drafts should become exhausted, and the overtasked brain 
should succumb for a season, on account of the burden it had 
been carrying for so many months. We follow him to the 
homes of beloved friends in New York and Vermont. How 
joyfully is he welcomed to the circles so dear to him ! With 
what fond pride his partial friends receive him whose fame 
has reached their ears. They behold in him one of the most elo- 
quent and successful pastors in the favored metropolis of New 
England. Dark days, however, and sad hours were appointed to 
him, and he must go down into the valley of sorrow before he 
can again stand upon what to him was a more glorious spot than 
any earthly throne — the platform of the Baldwin Place pulpit. 
We may say that he has violated the laws of his physical 
being, and he must pay the penalty of such violation. But 
how little is accomplished in this world by men who never 
overwork themselves! The toilers in all the fields where 
brain and heart are sometimes so severely tasked, must expect 



SICKXESS. 129 

that days and weeks of reaction will come. But meanwhile 
the seeds which they have sown are germinating, and ere 
long will spring up in a ripe harvest. All that friendship 
could dictate, and skill could do, was done for the sufferer's 
relief. Those who were his nearest of kin were by his side, 
and, in the warmth of his gratitude and love, he does not fail 
to pay a touching tribute of affection to her who, in all times 
of sorrow as well as of joy, stood by him. 

August 10. On the 2d July, with Mrs. Stow, left home for a visit 
to dear friends in New York and Vermont. On Wednesday, the 8th 
August, we reached our loved and longed-for home. God has been 
good to us in every place and every hour. 

August 26. Immediately after writing the above, I was obliged to 
call a physician, wbo pronounced me ill with nervous fever, with symp- 
toms of inflammation of the brain. For several days I was a sufferer, 
and doubted whether I should ever recover. But God heard the 
prayers of a praying church, and I am now recovering. My flesh and 
strength are much reduced. Still God has not forsaken me. He has 
chastened me like an affectionate Father, and I would be grateful for 
the correction. This is the eighth Sabbath I have been absent from my 
dear people. I long to meet them. The Great Shepherd has taken me 
off from the work, and he is able to take care of the flock. 

September 2. By the great goodness of God, have been allowed to 
go into his house, and hear his word, and assist in administering the 
Lord's Supper. 

September 7. Twelve years ago to-day, God gave me the woman of 
my choice for a companion, a help-meet along the rough journey of 
life. During this period we have lived together in love, and I have 
never seen the hour when I had not occasion to bless God for the 
union. Together we have shared in the divine goodness ; together we 
have passed through trials ; in sickness and health, at home and abroad, 
she has been a faithful wife ; all I could ask ; better than I have de- 
served. May the Lord in mercy spare her for many years to be the 
partner of one of his unworthiest servants. 

At length, restored to his flock, the pastor addresses him- 
self, with his wonted zeal, to his labors. But it is evident 
that he does not at once recover the elevated tone of religious 
feeling which had marked the experience of the earlier months 
of the year. He often writes bitter things against himself; 
but we will bear in mind that, in the violation of the laws of 
9 



130 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

his physical being, he has done his work, and we must not be 
surprised if his depression corresponds with his elevation. 

September 27. Returned from a meeting of the Salem Baptist Asso- 
ciation, held at Beverly. Preached yesterday afternoon from Eph. iii. 
15. In the evening addressed the meeting of the Salem Bible Trans- 
lation and Foreign Missionary Society. Lost my self-control, and be- 
came unduly excited. The consequence has been a wakeful night and 
headache. The cause of foreign missions has a strong hold on my sym- 
pathies, and I cannot speak in its behalf without emotion. 

" Pity the nations, O our God, 
Constrain the earth to come." 

If I was a fit person for a missionary, I would offer myself without 
delay. 

October 14. Last evening I made an effort to preach from Matt. xxi. 
37. At first it was really a great effort, owing to the darkness and slug- 
gishness of my mind. After about fifteen minutes, the subject began 
to open, the clouds cleared away, and I had unusual enlargement. My 
discourse was nearly one hour long, and I could easily have extended 
it another hour. It is delightful work to preach when the Holy Spirit 
is present, giving light and life to the mind. I am never happier, ex- 
cept in private devotion, than when preaching the gospel and recom- 
mending the Lord Jesus as the only, all-sufficient Saviour. 

Lord's day evening, December 30. Preached twice to-day. The 
tide of feeling is manifestly rising in the church and congregation. 

December 31. This year is closing : how much better, how much 
holier, am I than when it commenced ? Lord, forgive the sins ,of the 
whole year ; accept my thanks for its mercies to myself, family, and 
this dear people. Since the year commenced I have had the pleasure 
of baptizing one hundred and seventy-seven. 

1839. 

The record of the year 1839 contains nothing of special 
interest to the general reader. Ministerial work is performed 
with fidelity, and the results of this labor are thus summed 
up: "During this year I have preached one hundred and 
six sermons, baptized thirty-four persons, married forty-five 
couples, attended thirty-eight funerals, and made nine hun- 
dred and sixty-four parochial calls." How much is compre- 
hended in these brief statistics it is not easy to measure ! 
They imply constant, hard toil. Brain, and heart, and body 



LETTER TO DEACON SAMUEL BEAL. 131 

must all have been pressed into the service, and each have 
done its work well. 

We find but one letter written this year worthy of special 
note. It was composed at Windsor, Vt., where he was 
spending a few days of vacation, and addressed to Deacon 
Samuel Beal: — 

Windsor, October 19, 1839. 

My dear Brother : We arrived here in safety on Tuesday evening, 
and found our friends well. Our mother is much better than we ex- 
pected to find her. She is now past eighty, and her faculties are much 
enfeebled, but she is happy in Christ, and has no desire to remain an- 
other day. O, it is delightful to see an aged Christian, just ready to 
enter heaven. How sweet to such, after the toils and trials of a long 
life, to come into the enjoyment of the promised rest! 

We hope to reach Boston on Thursday evening. I wish I could be 
with you on Tuesday evening. The Lord pour out his Holy Spirit upon 
the dear church, and bring them near to himself in prayer and praise. 
I feel anxious respecting our special fast, and hope the beloved breth- 
ren and sisters will all enter into the spirit of it, and be prepared to 
renew covenant with God and with one another. 

I find that the churches in this region are in a most wretched condi- 
tion. Under the new mode of converting people, without conviction 
by the law, they are filled up with unconverted members, and conse- 
quently not only devoid of spirituality, but overrun with errors and 
heresies. Blessed be God for his abounding goodness to the dear flock 
in Baldwin Place. I know not how happily I am situated until I leave 
home, and become acquainted with the circumstances of other pastors. 
I would not exchange my dear people for any that I know on the conti- 
nent. Pray for me that I may prove myself worthy of such a people 
by laboring with them and for them as a faithful, persevering pastor. 
Pray for me that my labors may be blessed. I long for the salvation 
of my whole people, and towards that point I intend to direct my efforts 
with all the wisdom and energy that God may give me. May I not hope 
for the powerful cooperation of the church ? 

1840. 

The 13th of January, 1840, will long be remembered as the 
day on which the ill-fated steamer Lexington was burned on 
Long Island Sound. We well recall the shudder of horror 
which ran over all this section of the country as the sad 



132 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

tidings reached our ears. Mr. Stow thus alludes to the 
event : — 

January 16. Awful tidings ! the steamer Lexington burnt on Long 
Island Sound on the evening of the 13th! More than one hundred 
souls on board, and only four saved ! Among the lost is one of my 
neighbors and hearers, Mr. C. W. W\, a most estimable man and a 
Christian. Have spent some hours to-day with his afflicted wife and 
children. My heart bleeds for them. Lord, support and comfort them. 
They need thy succor. 

Mr. Stow had never entirely recovered from the attack, 
which, as we have already seen, had so completely prostrated 
him a few months before this date. He returned, it is true, 
to his labors, but the burden of care pressed upon a spirit, 
which, in a measure, had lost its elasticity. His anxiety for 
the continuance of the good work among his people had not 
abated. He preached, he prayed, he toiled with his custom- 
ary fervor and zeal. "With the deepest solicitude he watched 
for every token that the blessing was about to return. " The 
indications for good," he tells us, early in the year, " seem 
encouraging among us ; the brethren are looking for another 
revival. God grant it may be so." His heart is gladdened 
by hearing of the workings of the Holy Spirit in his old 
church in Portsmouth. He alludes to meetings held every 
evening in the week, in the lecture-room of his own 
church. The vestry is crowded. Souls are anxious, or find- 
ing "peace in believing;" and as Saturday comes, his prayer 
is, " Lord, assist me on the morrow, that I may give the 
trumpet a certain sound." He goes through with the duties 
of the day, in the evening attends the ordination of Rev. 
William Howe, to whom he gives the charge, and is weary 
and worn when he returns to his home in Sheafe Street. We 
are not surprised to hear him say, a few days after this, that 
he went with his physician to consult with Dr. J. Jackson 
about his case. Dr. Jackson advises him to give up all pro- 
fessional labor, at least for a season. " How can I at this 
present time," he exclaims, "how can I retire, when the 
services of two men are constantly needed ! " The advice 



JOURNAL. 133 

of the physician is not followed, but some relief is found from 
the assistance of a young man from the Theological Institu- 
tion at Newton. The next extracts will show the reader 
how little real relaxation he found. 

April 5. Preached once, and baptized nineteen, eleven of whom are 
young men. The house was crowded in every part, and I must hope 
good will appear as the result of this day's services. Afternoon I gave 
the right hand of fellowship to twenty-five, and administered the blessed 
sacrament. 

April 9. At six o'clock this morning public services were held at the 
laying of the corner-stone of the new church to be erected in Bowdoin 
Square. I delivered the address. Dr. Sharp and Brother R. H. Neale 
offered prayers. The concourse was large and attentive. 

April 26. To-day have preached twice, and baptized twenty-four. 
Had a good season. 

May 2. Returned from New York. The anniversaries were very 
interesting. The brethren seemed to be under a divine influence. The 
meetings of the Foreign Missionary Board were distinguished by fra- 
ternal harmony and brotherly love, realizing David's description in 
Psalm cxxxiii. 

May 31. Baptized twenty-six. The oldest candidate was nearly 
eighty-five, the youngest was fourteen. The season was one of pecu- 
liar solemnity. 

June 7. Preached twice, gave the right hand of fellowship to thirty- 
three, and administered the Lord's Supper. Enjoyed myself more 
than usual in preaching this afternoon, from Phil. iii. 10 — "Being 
made conformable to his death" The Spirit let me into the meaning 
somewhat of that expression, and also showed me there were still 
depths I could not yet fathom. Lord, may I have more of this blessed 
conformity ; then shall I be better able to explain it. 

June 21. Preached in the morning from the words "To die is gain." 
Had unusual freedom and sweet enjoyment. In the afternoon went to 
Chelsea, baptized six, gave the hand of fellowship to them after preach- 
ing, and then we together enjoyed the "breaking of bread." Attended 
a funeral, and prayed with another afllicted family. I am wearied in 
body, but the spirit is still willing. It has been a good day to my soul 
— " man did eat angels' food." 

September 17. This evening I have aided in the organization of a 
new church in Bowdoin Square — a very solemn occasion. 

Seventy-six of the number were dismissed on Tuesday evening by 
the dear church of which I am pastor. The deduction from our strength 
is large, and I have some fears whether, after this removal of so many 



134 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

tried and faithful helpers, I shall be able to sustain the labors and re- 
sponsibilities of my office. I submit this question to the " Head of the 
church." If I can remain here, I shall. I know of no spot this side 
of heaven which I should prefer to Baldwin Place. 

October 15. At times I am nearly decided to remain, and give this 
people the last remnant of my strength. A voyage to Europe is some- 
times a vision. An absence of one whole year for physical rest and im- 
provement ! 

October 17. Still undetermined and perplexed. My dear people are 
endeavoring to devise means of relief; but, though I love them for their 
kind intentions, yet I have little faith in their success. The evil lies 
beyond the reach of the few who sympathize with me in my sufferings. 
As they are sanguine in their hopes, I may think it duty to repeat the 
experiment once more, and to lay myself again, perhaps for the last 
time, upon the altar. 

And thus the weeks and months had been crowded with 
unremitting labors. The departure of so many of his old 
friends, and among the band some to whom he was warmly- 
attached, to form the new church, saddened his spirits. Other 
trials, from which the servant of Christ must not expect to 
escape, had oppressed him. He needed absolute rest and a 
complete change of employment. The church saw the con- 
dition of their pastor, and they were ready to devise gen- 
erous things in his behalf. What their proposal was we 
shall see. 

October 30. It is nearly decided that my wife and myself shall make 
the tour of Europe, and be absent some six or eight months. This is 
the order of my physicians, and the expressed wish of my beloved peo- 
ple. I ought not to hesitate. The Hon. Nathan Gurney and wife pro- 
pose to accompany us, much, very much to our gratification. The Lord 
be praised for such mercies. 

November 5. This evening the new house in Bowdoin Square was 
dedicated, and the new church publicly recognized. I addressed the 
church, and gave them the right hand of fellowship. Lord, bless that 
church, build them up, make them united, useful, and happy. Eighty 
of the members went from Baldwin Place, fifty of whom were baptized 
by my own hands. 

November 29, Lord's day. Preached twice. Gave the hand of fel- 
lowship to fifteen, and administered the sacrament. Solemn season. 
Shall I ever preach to this dear people again? 



LETTER FROM HALIFAX. 135 

We are now to follow Mr. Stow as he enters upon new 
scenes. As he leaves his native shores our prayers go with 
him, and we beseech Him whom he so often addressed as 
the " Father of mercies and God of all grace " to watch 
over him in all his wanderings, and bring him safely back to 
the church of his love and the field of his toils. Every- 
where he bears his people on his heart, and sends them his 
friendly Christian greetings. On Tuesday, December 1, he 
embarks on board the steamship Britannia, and, having 
reached Halifax, he sends to his church the following com- 
munication : — 

Halifax, December 3, 1840. 

Dear Flock op Christ : Having been safely brought thus far on 
our wintry voyage, let me request you to join me in thanksgiving to 
God for his tender mercies which have been over us, shielding us from 
danger and preserving us from suffering. 

The separation from you, though designed to be temporary, cost me 
severe and unaccustomed pangs, and I pray I may be spared a repetition 
of the painful process. Now that I am away, my heart still turns to- 
wards you, and towards the place of your assembling, afflicted that I 
cannot be with you, "joying and beholding your order." Nothing but 
the clearest conviction that duty demanded the sacrifice I am making 
could ever have induced me to take this step, or reconciled me to the 
prospect of so long an absence from the people I love, and whom I de- 
light to serve in the gospel of the grace of God. If there are any who 
doubt my unwavering attachment to the church, or who suppose that in 
leaving them I am seeking my own ends, I only wish they knew the 
struggles of my bosom during the last two months ; nay, that they could 
at this hour look into my heart, and see the emotions which rush up at 
the recollection of the dear flock of my pastoral care. No, dearly be- 
loved, I have not thus retired from my post for a season because I love 
you less, but because I love you more. Had I not done this I should 
have been obliged to resign my charge, and request you to procure a 
successor, who might render you a more efficient and more constant 
service. The choice was your own that I should go abroad at your ex- 
pense, for your own sake and for the sake of the cause. I am acting 
in accordance with your own wishes, solemnly expressed; and if any of 
your number differ in opinion from the great body, deeply as I may re- 
gret it, I have not felt it right for me to yield to the wishes of the few 
rather than of the many. The Lord be praised for the union that pre- 
vails among you, and may it never, never be disturbed. 



136 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

The Lord be with you, precious disciples of my Master, and give 
you evermore the spirit of faith and the spirit of prayer. 0, remember 
my last text; drink in its spirit, exemplify its principles. Be faithful 
to the unconverted, be faithful to one another. Hold together in love, 
work together in love. Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in 
the work of the Lord. 

Your affectionate pastor, 

Baron Stow. 

St. Paul prayed to be delivered from " unreasonable men." 
From the foregoing epistle we infer that in even so loving and 
considerate a church as the Baldwin Place Church has always 
had the reputation of being, there may possibly have been a 
few such. Had there been but one, the peculiarly sensitive 
spirit of the jaded, worn pastor would have felt it. 

His next letter to his church bears the following date : — 

6 Queen Street Place, London, 19 Dec, 1840. 

Mt vert dear Brethren and Sisters of the Baldwin Place 
Church : Grace, mercy, and peace from God, even our Father, be mul- 
tiplied to you all, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

I wrote you a few lines from Halifax, not because I had anything new 
to communicate, but as expressive of my fervent affection and of my 
tender solicitude for your welfare. Since the date of that letter we 
have passed over a long distance, been exposed to some dangers, and 
experienced much of the goodness of God. Our passage was thirteen 
and a half days, and was quite as favorable as could be expected at this 
inclement season. Prom all on board we received the kindest possible 
attention. We passed two Sabbaths on the ocean, and though prayers 
were read in the saloon, we were quite too unwell to attend. I was in 
both instances requested to preach, but really I was not in preaching 
mood. The ship was quite too unsteady for my weak nerves. The 
blessed pulpit in Baldwin Place would have been far preferable. We 
thought of you during the hours of service, and wondered who might be 
dispensing to you the word of life. Our prayer was, and still is, and 
shall continue to be, that the Spirit of the Lord may be with you, and 
keep you affectionately united, and revive your graces, and make you 
active and useful in promoting the interests of Christ's kingdom. 

The next day after our arrival at Liverpool, we left for London by the 
way of Birmingham. We have now been in London two days, during 
which time we have been engaged in preparations for our tour upon the 
continent. Of course we have not been able to become acquainted with 



LETTER FROM ENGLAND. 137 

many of the excellent Christians with which this city abounds. It is 
now Saturday evening, a time when I have been accustomed to prepare 
for preaching on the holy Sabbath. Instead of preparing sermons I am 
doing the best thing I can as a substitute. Accept this, dearly beloved, 
as a token of my affectionate remembrance, and of my readiness to 
serve you, even though separated from you by thousands of miles. 

I long anxiously to hear from you, and to learn how you are prosper- 
ing in the Lord. I doubt not that you have good preaching. May you 
profit by it, and grow in both grace and knowledge. Are your prayer 
meetings well attended? Are they deeply spiritual? Do you agree as 
touching what you shall ask of a prayer-hearing God ? Are you anx- 
ious for the conversion of souls ? O, my dear, dear brethren and sisters, 
fail not to keep your skirts clear of the blood of souls. Let them not 
perish through your neglect. 

No essential change has yet occurred in my health. I expect no 
improvement until I reach milder climes. I need not say, " Pray for 
us." Your very affectionate pastor, 

Baron Stow. 

In the correspondence which was thus begun by the absent 
pastor, we notice the warmth of affection which was so prom- 
inent a feature in his character. A few of the letters which 
were sent to him as replies we have found among his papers. 
They are full of expressions of attachment on the part of his 
church, and earnest prayers that their minister may recover 
his health, and be restored to them again. We resume the 
thread of our narrative in the words of Mr. Stow. 

London, December 20. At half past six went to St. John Chapel, 
Bedford Row, to hear the Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel. The chapel 
is very spacious, containing seats for twenty-two hundred. The service 
was well read by an aged clergyman with a strong, clear voice. Mr. 
Noel preached from 1 Peter i. 18, 19. The discourse was decidedly 
evangelical in sentiment, chaste and simple in style. He is represented 
as one of the most laborious and useful ministers in the Establishment. 
God give the Church of England many more such. 

Paris, December 28. Several Americans called, and showed much 
kind sympathy. It is good to find friends who know how to show kind- 
ness without charging five francs for it. 

Paris, December 29. Still feeble and inefficient. Kind friends still 
overwhelm us with attentions. Walked around the garden of the 
Palais Royal with Mrs. S. The shops are magnificent. The French 



138 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

truly understand the art of display. Every American we have yet seen 
here testifies they will lie and cheat. How could we expect truth and 
honesty among an infidel people? 

1841. 

January 1, 1841. Called on Dr. Motte, a distinguished physician 
from Xew York, now here with his family for the improvement of his 
health. He made minute inquiries respecting my case, and said it most 
exactly resembled his own. Approved of my course in leaving home, 
and the field of my labor, and recommended that I remain for a consid- 
erable period, hoping, by these means, for full recovery. My mind is 
quite at ease upon one point; that is, the question if I had not made a 
mistake in yielding to the advice of my Boston physician and friends in 
coming to Europe. 

Have received invitations from General Cass and lady to dine with 
them on Friday. 

Paris, January 3. Though far away, and surrounded by exciting 
novelties, yet my mind is more occupied with this one subject, the sal- 
vation of my dear people, than with any or everything else. Xothing 
would impart a purer, richer satisfaction than to hear of a revival in 
Baldwin Place. Lord Jesus, my Saviour and my Friend, grant me 
this sweet satisfaction. 

In the evening Dr. TTayland called and took tea. His conversation 
was both instructive and spiritual. At ten he closed the interview with 
a most humble, fervent prayer. This evening will be remembered by 
us in years to come. 

After he left, we took a walk through the Place du Carrousel, and 
looked at the illuminated palace where the queen was receiving " the 
calls" of ladies by thousands, and this on the Lord's day. Afterwards 
walked upon the Pont Royal, and gazed upon the splendid scene up and 
down the river. Beautiful evening! beautiful, enchanting sight! but 
alas ! how does God, the Holy One, look down upon this people, upon 
what they are, and what they are doing? Returned grateful that I was 
born in America, " that goodly land," a land of Bibles, Sabbaths, a re- 
publican, Christian land. 

Paris. January 4. Had I no other object in this tour than sight-see- 
ing, I should at once turn about and go home to my work. It is small 
business for persons in health. A man who has but one life to live, and 
that a short one, has enough else of more importance to do. If I had 
not the hope of regaining my health, so as to enable me to continue my 
labors at Baldwin Place, I would not proceed another league. Much as 
I should like to see Italy, Greece, and especially the Holy Land, I know 



JOURNAL. 139 

not how I could account to Christ for time and money thus employed, if 
my own gratification were the primary object. 

January 6, evening. Called on Rev. Mr. Baird, 16 Rue de la Ferme 
des Mathurins, and conversed upon professional subjects. His piety 
is of the gentle, sweet, attractive kind. O that Paris had a thousand 
such, as salt in the midst of her impurity, as lights in the midst of her 
darkness. 

Paris, January 7. Our party were invited to the soiree of General 
and Mrs. Cass, at nine and a half this evening — a kind of business that 
ill accords with my health and feelings. My fear in attending is, that I 
shall do something inconsistent with my profession as a Christian and a 
minister. Lord, keep me in the path of purity. I would not be squeam- 
ish or over-careful, but I would " magnify mine office," and please my 
Master. 

January 8. Dined with a company of sixteen gentlemen. Among 
them were Monsieur Julienne de Paris, secretary of Robespierre, also 
of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Monsieur Champollion, brother of the cele- 
brated Monsieur Champollion, whose investigations in Egyptian hiero- 
glyphics have so much interested the learned world. General Cass is 
much interested in the same subject, and has written two articles in the 
North American Review. Two of the South American ministers were 
present, one from Chili, the other from Montevideo. 

January 11. Mr. Buckingham called. We conversed upon the pro- 
priety of clergymen doing in Paris what they would not do in America. 
His remarks were somewhat piquant, and showed his views of Christian 
consistency. It seems public opinion does not make it a question of 
right and wrong, but of consistency. / feel it would be wrong in me 
"to go everywhere." Theatres, operas, balls, and all amusements of 
that class, I regard as wrong in themselves. They are unbefitting 
moral, accountable beings ; they minister to depravity. They who fol- 
low them "live after the flesh." I- therefore avoid them, not only as a 
Christian and a Christian minister, but as a man, a being whom God 
has made ' ' a little lower than the angels; " a being destined to an im- 
mortal life. 

Paris, January 12. Here, as elsewhere, the purest gospel is preached 
in the humblest places. It would add nothing to the effectiveness of the 
evangelical message to have it proclaimed in the Madeleine, or St. 
Sulpice, or Notre Dame, or even in St. Paul's and St. Peter's. Plain 
and convenient places of worship are decidedly the best. 

Walked through the Place de la Concorde, into Champs Elysees. In 
the evening read aloud in Oliver Twist. Dickens is truly a powerful 
writer; his sketches of character are exceedingly graphic and vivid-, 
he makes each distinctly visible, inside and out. 



140 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

The following letter, which he wrote to his church and 
congregation may properly be introduced here : — 

Paris, January 14, 1841. 

My dear People : Before I left America I was earnestly entreated by 
many of you to throw off all care and anxiety, and surrender myself to 
mental as well as bodily relaxation. This I have endeavored to do as 
far as possible ; but God, who knows my heart, can best tell how diffi- 
cult it is for me to detach my thoughts and solicitudes from the people 
whom I have reason to love, and whom I shall ever love, so long as 
this heart continues its throbbings. As the Sabbath comes round, how 
can I forget Baldwin Place, and the people and the scenes associated 
with that hallowed spot? I could not if I would, I would not if I 
could. Every Sabbath since I left you I have in spirit been present in 
that temple where with an aching heart I bade you adieu. The assem- 
bly has been before me, and I have anxiously looked round to see if 
any were missing, desirous to be assured that all had principle enough 
regularly to fill their places, and to know that whoever might stand as 
my substitute, he had a full attendance of devout and attentive worship- 
pers. I have had before me, also, the whole choir, not one absent, and 
as heretofore, lifted my heart to God, that he would inspire their hearts 
to feel, as well as their lips to pronounce, the praises which they sing. 
I have sympathized with the preacher, and joined the longings of my 
heart with his, that the message of love might reach your hearts, and 
be made, by the Holy Spirit, the power of God unto your salvation. O 
my people, how has my heart yearned over you, and poured its peti- 
tions into the ear of the Lord of Sabaoth, that you might be profited by 
the hearing of the gospel! Much as I should rejoice to be employed 
by God as the subordinate agent in your conversion, yet I should be 
delighted to know that, even through the labors of others, you had 
come to the saving knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. You and I 
may not meet again on earth, but we must meet at the bar of the Son 
of Man. O that our meeting there may not be a painful one ! 

As the evenings consecrated by you to social prayer recur one after 
another, I am also with you in spirit, beholding the familiar faces, and 
joining in the devotions — such devotions as the angels love to observe, 
and the Saviour honors with his promised presence. These precious 
seasons have a deep hold on my heart, and wherever I may rove or rest, 
they will not, they cannot, be forgotten. If anything associated with 
them detracts from my comfort, it is the thought that so many of my 
dear people love not the place of prayer, and habitually stay away from 
those sacred scenes where true piety finds its congenial home. How 
happens it, my dear hearers, that you have such an aversion to the 



LETTER FROM PARIS. 141 

praycr-room, such dislike of praying society? Can you, in such a state 
of mind, have one qualification for heaven? I beseech you, lay this 
subject deeply to heart, and be neither too worldly nor too proud to 
meet with the people of God, and there lift up your hearts with theirs 
in supplication for the promised influences of the Holy Spirit. 

Since I left America I have seen six Sabbaths, but I have not preached 
a single sermon, and, owing to the state of my health, have attended 
public worship only twice. We have endeavored to maintain family 
worship, and in this I have found much comfort. Last Sabbath Dr. 
Wayland called at our lodgings, and prayed with us. and expounded the 
eighth chapter of Romans, and we conversed together upon the things 
of the kingdom of God. But the service, refreshing as it was, painfully 
reminded me of the privileges from which I am for several long months 
to be exiled. 

We are in the midst of a people who pay no religious regard to the 
holy Sabbath, and who, though they are decorated with crosses, are "the 
enemies of the cross of Christ" "God is not in all their thoughts" 
They " live after the flesh." O, when shall the gospel be preached here 
in its purity and power, and this wicked city be distinguished by revivals 
of religion? 

All that I have seen here and in England only makes me love my coun- 
try the more. I love the land of my birth, not for her buildings, piles 
of brick, and wood, and stone, not for her armies, her navies, her mili- 
tary schools, her painting, her statuary, but for her constitution, her 
laws, her churches, her schools, her liberty, her religion, her thousand, 
thousand excellences and privileges, of which the old world knows 
nothing, and under her present system can know nothing. I love my 
country because she is the best spot on the earth in which to recover 
the lost image of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. If I get no 
other good by this temporary absence, I shall certainly obtain this — 
the deeply-wrought conviction that Americans have occasion to be grate- 
ful and contented. No consideration but the one which tore me from my 
loved home and my loved duties would induce me to remain in Europe 
longer than I could find a safe and swift conveyance away from her 
polluted shores. He who preaches " total depravity," without having 
seen it as here developed, knows it only in theory. I have come to the 
conclusion that the millennium is somewhat farther off than I formerly 
supposed. Christianity has much to do before even Erance, with her 
thirty-five millions, shall be prepared for the reign of the Son of Man. 

For particulars respecting my health, I must refer you to my friend 
and brother, Dr. E. W. Leach, to whom I have, some days since, for- 
warded a letter containing a detail of facts. Many of you know that I 
was never very sanguine as to the result of this tour. I submitted to 



142 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

the judgment of others, because I had not confidence in my own, and 
because it appeared in the circumstances to be the only course which I 
could take, and yet retain my place as your pastor. The best wisdom 
that God gave was used, and nothing has occurred to change my opinion 
that the step taken was, on the whole, the best. My medical adviser here 
— and he has, perhaps, no superior — says that I have followed right 
counsel ; and if I stay away two or three years, I may be able to resume 
my parochial duties with some prospect of safety. Such an absence, 
however, I do not think of for a moment. I shall carefully obey the 
instructions of my Boston physician, and follow out your wishes, and 
then, by God's permission, return, and hope to be able, not only to re- 
sume, but long continue, these labors, which, by a strange paradox, are 
my life, though they have well nigh been my death. I know of no 
other way than to do present duty, and leave the future to Him whose 
purposes are as wise as they are inscrutable. 
I remain, dear friends, as ever, 

Your affectionate and devoted pastor, 

Baron Stow. 

What a warm, affectionate heart is spread out before our 
gaze in this loving communication to the church and society, 
of whose welfare he never lost sight ! He was not insensible 
to the charms of the beautiful capital of France. There were 
many objects of interest, which, as a tourist, he desired to see. 
In the diversion which was given to his thoughts, and the 
necessary physical exercise which he was obliged to take, 
who can doubt that he found the best medicine for the res- 
toration of his prostrated nervous system? We will look 
through his eyes as he passes from place to place, and with 
him will visit spots so memorable. 

Paris, January 15. At eleven we four took a fiacre, and went first to 
the Palace of the Luxembourg. The paintings there surpass everything 
we have yet seen. Went into the Chamber of Peers, also Chambre a 
Coucher de Marie de Medicis, a splendid apartment decorated in the 
most sumptuous style for those times. "Went next to St. Sulpice, and 
there witnessed a Catholic funeral. 

Visited Notre Dame. Stood on the spot where Napoleon was crowned. 
Saw the robes worn by the archbishop and by Napoleon at the corona- 
tion. Splendid trifles. 

In the evening took tea at Mr. Baird's, where I met a pleasant com- 
pany of French and American Christians ; among them were Messrs. 
Audebez, Lutterwoth, and Eoussel. 



JOUKNAI,. 143 

Monsieur Roussel is a preacher, but not a pastor. Is editor of a reli- 
gio-political paper, called L'Esperance. He is below the medium size, 
with a face that indicates mind and severe study. He is said to be a 
truly pious man, a lover of the truth. As an editor he is often severely 
sarcastic, especially on the Catholics, thus pleasing his infidel readers, 
who care little for his orthodoxy, provided he will "cut hard" upon 
" the hypocrites." 

We passed the evening pleasantly. It was good to find Frenchmen 
who could talk about " the grace of God," and "justification by faith 
alone," as if they understood and loved what they said. 

Paris, January 17. Another, and the fourth Sabbath in Paris. Went 
to the Church St. Roch, in Rue St. Honore. Heard a discourse from 

Monsieur , the priest who went out to St. Helena with the Prince 

de Joinville after the remains of Napoleon. His manner was spirited 
and every way impressive. The queen was present, and appeared very 
devout. She is spoken of by all as a very good woman. She is dis- 
tinguished for her simplicity of manners and dress, her industry and 
benevolence. 

Weather soft and balmy. Walked through the garden of the Tuile- 
ries, and saw thousands of people; all civil and orderly. 

Paris, January 18. Went to the Foundling Hospital. Rode next to 
the Triumphal Arch L'Etoile, a huge and splendid structure, commem- 
orative of military events. From the summit we had a fine view of 
Paris and its environs. Height one hundred and fifty-two feet. 

Lyons, January 24. Left Paris January 21. We took the whole of 
the Interieur, and provided ourselves with as many comforts as we could 
afford. The air was uncommonly clear as we emerged from Paris. It 
was delightful to look abroad upon earth and sky, and breathe the 
healthful atmosphere. We took our route par Chalons sur Saone. We 
were sixty-five hours on the road, a distance of one hundred nineteen 
and a half French leagues, or three hundred English miles. We reached 
Lyons this (Sunday) morning at seven o'clock. Pleased enough to 
arrive without trespassing more on holy time. The ride has been a 
very tedious one, but we have suffered no more than we anticipated. 
Some parts of the country were lightly covered with snow ; others were 
quite bare. In some places the ground was soft; in others, hard frozen. 
The frightful stories told us in Paris of the state of the roads were hap- 
pily untrue. The road was all the way exceedingly good. It is a mac- 
adamized road, and along the whole length were heaps of broken stone, 
ready to be thrown in when the road at any point becomes soft or 
yielding. 

Thousands, nay, millions, of acres we have seen covered with vines, 
especially in Burgundy. It must be a most beautiful route in summer. 



144 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

As in other parts of France, we saw more of the women than the men, 
as they were out with their donkeys bearing various articles, such as 
vegetables, wood, &c, to the nearest markets. The houses are clustered 
compactly in villages, with no appearance of cleanliness or of comfort. 
Some of the cafes where we took our meals were disgustingly dirty. 
The coffee, with boiled milk, has everywhere in France been a luxury, 
and the bread excellent, though baked in shapes that appear ludicrous. 

Lyons, January 25. Went up and down the Rhone; viewed the quays 
and bridges. Ascended the hill west of the Saone, on which stood the 
ancient city Lugdunum; prospect was extensive. Visited the man- 
ufactories of silk tapestry. 

River Rhone, January 26. So we are here in a French steamer, 
upon the ancient Rhodanus, hastening rapidly towards the Mediterra- 
nean. The whole region through which we are passing is classic 
ground, containing remains of Roman antiquities, such as aqueducts, 
bridges, &c. No place has so much interested me as Vienne, a short 
distance below Lyons. Here the Christians of early times were furi- 
ously persecuted. The gospel was preached through all this part of 
France very soon after the ascension of our blessed Saviour. Query, 
if Paul visited England, did he pass up the Rhone? What route did he 
take into Spain ? 

Avignon, January 27. In three hours from St. Esprit we reached 
this ancient and famous city. Went into the Chapelle du St. Office, 
where the popes perform their devotions. Next was the Chapelle de 
l'lnquisition, where those who were condemned "pour crime d'here- 
sie " to suffer punishment, came to make the " amende honorable." 
Then we entered the Salle des Tortures, where the heretics were dealt 
with after the manner of St. Dominic. A part of the oven remains 
into which they were thrust to be roasted into confession. 

Next came the " Tribunal de l'lnquisition," where the heretics were 
tried. After this we saw the " Tour de Taurias," a prison designed for 
criminals. Thence we went upon the rock, the highest part of the 
city, where the prospect up and down the Rhone is very fine ; also the 
famous country of Languedoc. 

Avignon, January 29. Yesterday afternoon we took a caleche and 
visited the tomb of Laura — " Tombeau de la belle Laure." She 
was interred in the church of the Cordeliers, which was demolished 
fifty years ago, during the French revolution. Parts of the walls are 
still standing, and the ruins lie in heaps on all sides. The site of the 
church is now a garden, of a very ordinary character. The spot upon 
which strangers have gazed with so much interest is marked by a small, 
rude monument, erected in 1823 by Charles Kelsall, a travelling Eng- 
lishman. It is encompassed by a row of small cypresses, thirty in 



JOURNAL. 145 

number, set in elliptical form; four small weeping willows bend over 
the spot hallowed to so many minds by deeply interesting associations. 

Avignon, January 30. At eleven o'clock took a caleche, and went out to 
Vaucluse, fifteen English miles. The road lay through a pleasant, well- 
cultivated country, which in summer must be most delightful to the eye. 
We passed several villages where the inhabitants were mostly out of doors, 
upon the southern sides of their houses, saving fuel by warming them- 
selves in the sun. We saw several women spinning flax upon small, 
awkwardly constructed foot-wheels, bearing some resemblance to those 
which my grandmother used. A greater portion of the ground was 
ploughed, and planted with madder and teasles, the principal products 
of this neighborhood. We saw on the way beautiful hedges of cypress, 
also rows of the plane tree, in our country the "sycamore," or "button- 
wood." Upon a ridge, rocky and gravelly, we saw, the first time, the 
olive, of which there are extensive orchards. The plain lands were 
planted with the white mulberry. 

At L'Isle our coachman was obliged to stop to get a shoe set on 
one of the horses. Mr. G. and myself walked until we came to the 
" Hotel de Petrarque et de Laure," " which," Madame Starke says " is 
celebrated by travellers for its dinners, consisting of excellent trout and 
other fish." We were met by the landlord, a bluff, blowzy man, impor- 
tuning us, in his peculiar patois, to take dinner at his house. As we 
had determined to do so, we ordered it, hoping for once to get a dinner 
that would relish "at trois francs" per head. Our caleche came up 
soon after, and in half an hour more we were at Vaucluse, a little vil- 
lage of eighty inhabitants. The road wound along the stream, which 
dashed limpidly and rapidly over the rocks. On our right, as we as- 
cended, was the torrent ; on our left, as also on our right across the 
stream, were high, precipitous rocks, which became higher and bolder 
as we advanced. Occasionally, between the path and the water, there 
was a small patch of earth, containing a cypress, or an olive, and a few 
garden vegetables. The bed of the stream was in many places cov- 
ered with a vegetable most luxuriantly green, and manifestly a lover 
of pure cold water. I pulled some, finding it, from its appearance 
and odor, to be a species of parsnip. 

Half way from the village to the fountain, on the bank opposite 
to the path, are the ruins said to be of the house of Petrarch, occu- 
pied by him some five hundred years ago. It must have been about 
one hundred feet above the bed of the torrent, and had but one way 
of access — by a steep ascent on the west side. 

At the distance of about one quarter or one third of a mile from 
the village, we arrived at the termination of the path. It was the 

10 



146 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

fountain of Vaucluse ! We stood in silent admiration, hardly able to 
believe that we were upon the spot of which we had read much, and 
of which we had heard many speak in terms bordering upon enthusiasm. 
We felt an interest in the associations of the place ; besides, there was 
grandeur in the scene. We stood where the sun is seldom seen, so en- 
closed is the spot by high, overhanging rocks, which we could not con- 
template without awe approaching to terror. At our feet was a quiet, 
limpid pool, some fifteen or twenty yards in diameter, supplied copiously 
from hidden sources known only to the Creator, and unruffled either by 
the wind from above or the rushing waters from beneath. The rock is 
calcareous, and the stones around covered with tufa. I have seen some 
of the sublime scenes of nature, but none whose sublimity resembles 
that of the scene before me. It was peculiar, and led me to think not 
of Petrarch, but of Him who made all these things, and before whom Pe- 
trarch and his contemporaries must stand in judgment. 

The sun was declining, and we turned reluctantly away, bearing with us 
some memorials of the spot. The whole of this chasm in the calcareous 
rock, varying in depth from two hundred to three hundred feet, exhibits 
proof of having been worn down by the action of the current. At the 
height of one hundred and fifty and even two hundred feet from the 
present bed of the stream, are large excavations in the sides of the 
rock, evidently produced by attrition of water. . When was all this 
done? How long has this fountain been flowing? Was it ever more 
copious than now? What do geologists say of these striking phe- 
nomena? 

The quantity of water poured from this fountain is immense. At 
LTsle the stream is divided into several canals, in each of which there 
is water sufficient to turn heavy, cumbrous water-wheels. 

At eight we reached our lodgings, and, what is unusual for us, called 
for tea. Since we have entered France, we have breakfasted from 
nine to ten, and dined from four to six. So we have dispensed with 
suppers, and of course with tea. At ten o'clock read John xvii., and 
found it good to draw near to God in prayer. Precious privilege. 

Avignon, February 1. Engaged our places for Marseilles — took 
the whole interieur " for thirty-six francs, or six francs apiece for us 
four." 

Marseilles, February 2. Left Avignon at six o'clock last evening, 
had a cheerful ride, reached Aix at five this morning, then took refresh- 
ments. At daylight we found ourselves approaching a better country, 
and appearances improved as we advanced. The houses, gardens, vine- 
yards, and olive-yards all indicated more neatness, thrift, and comfort 
than we had seen or expected to see in France. At nine, instead of 



JOUKNAL. 147 

seven, as promised, we were set down in Marseilles, in the Hotel de 
l'Orient, a new house, better arranged and apparently better kept than 
anything we had seen in Europe, — not. even excepting Dee's Royal 
Hotel in Birmingham. 

After breakfast went directly to the banking-house, and to my great 
gratification found letters from home ; all well and prosperous up to 
January 1. The Lord be praised. Deacon B. gives a most encoura- 
ging account of the state of the church and congregation — no death, no 
sickness, and prospect of a revival. The Lord in mercy pour out his 
Holy Spirit and bless his own word, and hear the prayers of his people. 
The committee have engaged Rev. Mr. Johnston, a native of Scotland, 
late pastor of the church in Auburn, N. Y., to preach until my return. 
May he do that dear people great good. 

"We have taken our places in the steamer Pharamond, which leaves 
to-morrow at four P. M. for Naples, via Genoa, Leghorn, and Civita 
Vecchia. As we went down the harbor in a boat to examine the 
steamer, I had some peculiar emotions, occasioned by the thought that I 
was actually on the Mediterranean ; these emotions, mingling with those 
awakened by the letters from home and the thoughts of home produced 
a state of mind quite new, well nigh overwhelming. 

Harbor of Genoa, February 4. When I rose this morning it rained, 
but the clouds soon cleared away, and disclosed on our left the Italian 
coast, with high mountains capped with snow ; the Sardinian towns 
scattered along, some in the gorges of the hills, and close down by the 
sea; others, high up on their sides, gave to the scene an air highly pic- 
turesque. In the afternoon, the wind, north-east, increased to a gale, 
and I was driven to my berth by the motion of the vessel. At six we 
came to anchor in the harbor of Genoa, where Ave hope to-morrow to go 
on shore. The storm is furious indeed ; and we feel that we have occa- 
sion for special gratitude to God that we are safe in port. 

We are pleased with Genoa. It lies in a semicircle around the 
harbor, and upon the sides of the Apennines, in the form of an 
amphitheatre. The view from the outer harbor is particularly charm- 
ing. The streets, though narrow and crooked, are tolerably clean. 
The people are well dressed and orderly. We saw very few beggars. 

Leghorn, February 6. Left Genoa in due French time, that is, two 
hours after the time promised. At five this morning we reached Leg- 
horn. As the captain promised not to leave till four P. M., saying he 
should start precisely at that hour, we took carriages, seven persons in 
all, and went out to Pisa, some twelve or fourteen miles north of Leg- 
horn. The'road was delightful, winding through a level country, well 
cultivated, and lined on either hand with the white mulberry, and vines 



148 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

trained from tree to tree in a manner that must be beautiful indeed 
when in full foliage. We were often accosted by beggars, that would 
come hobbling up to the carriage windows as if very decrepit ; but when 
our coachman quickened the pace of his beasts, they would quit their 
hobbling, and run with a speed which we could scarcely outstrip. In 
two hours and a quarter we were set down at the " Hotel des Trois 
Demoiselles," in Pisa, facing the Arno, now swollen and turbid. En- 
gaging a cicerone, we set off at once to see the most important lions. 
On our way we stopped to take a passing look at the Church of St. 
Stephen; soon we were at the foot of the " Leaning Tower," the ad- 
miration of the world; next came the Cathedral, the most splendid 
church we have yet seen ; next the Baptistery, once used for the immer- 
sion of both adults and infants, now only for the sprinkling of infants. 
Madame Starke says, "The practice of immersion was discontinued in 
the thirteenth century." Why? we ask, why? The building is spacious, 
with some very handsome bassi-relievi. We reached Leghorn at three. 
After slight refreshment at a damp, dark restaurant, hurried on board, 
the boatmen quarrelling who should take us off, and thus make a few 
sous of the job. We were punctual, as required. The steamer got under 
way at five and a half. We were grieved that we could not have had 
this time on shore, for we much desired to see the cemetery and the 
synagogue. 

Civita Vecchia, February 7. Reached this place at eleven and a half 
this morning; had a very boisterous passage, with headwind, and heavy, 
rolling sea. Confined to my berth all the way. It is the Lord's day. 
E. and myself went by ourselves on deck, and read several of the Psalms 
of David — " sweeter than honey and the honey-comb," especially the 
sixty-first and sixty-second, with the eighty-fourth. The rest of our 
company went on shore ; but as it was the Sabbath, we preferred to 
spend the few hours while in port in the most devotional way possible. 
We had no retired place for joint prayer, but still found it good to lift 
our hearts on high, to praise and pray " in secret silence of tbe mind." 

Naples, February 8. Had another boisterous, uncomfortable night. 
At ten and a half this morning we entered the grand mole of Naples. 
The sea was so heavy, and the ship rolled so badly, I could not go on 
deck as she passed up the bay ; so I lost that beautiful view of the city, 
of which travellers speak with such raptures. We had so many cere- 
monies to go through on shipboard, and at the custom-house, we did 
not reach our hotel until three P. M. We have found a home for a day 
or two in the "Hotel de Russie," directly on the beach, and facing 
the bay, in Strada di San Lucia. 

Naples, February 9. We walked to the Ville Reale, a most beautiful 
promenade along the beach of the bay, for a mile or more elegantly 



JOURNAL. 149 

set out with trees and shrubbery, and liberally interspersed with statues 
and fountains. It was full of gay company. Vesuvius is in full view 
from our windows, but ever since our arrival has been capped with 
clouds. The day has been charming, and we have realized what is meant 
by " the silken climate " of Italy. An Italian said to us at Marseilles, 
" O, you will find a sweet climate at Naples ; " and so we have found. 
Surely every day cannot be like this. 



150 



MEMOIR OF DK. STOW. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Improved Health. — Letter to the Baldwin Place Church. — 
Naples. — Rome. — Northern Italy. 

1841. 

It is evident from the journal of Mr. Stow, that the de- 
cision to which he came, to break away from the cares of the 
ministry, was a wise one. It is easy to see that the tone of 
his animal spirits is very much raised, that he derives sincere 
pleasure from sight-seeing, and that he exercises his wonted 
discrimination in observing the objects which pass under the 
notice of his eye. We rejoice to see this improvement in his 
feelings, and predict that in due time he will return to his 
duties with new strength. 

The following communication, addressed to the Baldwin 
Place Church, indicates the warm affection of the absent pas- 
tor for his beloved flock : — 

Naples, February 10, 1841. 
Dearly beloved Brethren and Sisters : My last communication to 
you was dated at London, about twenty days after I bade you a painful 
and reluctant adieu. I now address you from this classic land, where, at 
almost every step, I am reminded of by-gone generations, of whose 
deeds I have all my life been reading, and among the ruins of whose 
greatness I have long desired to wander. I am writing before a win- 
dow which faces the beautiful Bay of Naples, and from which I can dis- 
tinctly see Mount Vesuvius, one of the chimneys of the globe, from 
whose crater the smoke is continually issuing. I can hardly realize 
that I am here, looking out upon the Mediterranean, that sea so famed 
in sacred and profane history — the sea that laves the shores of Greece, 
Egypt, Asia Minor, and Palestine — the very sea upon which Paul the 



LETTER TO HIS CHURCH. lftl 

prisoner was tempest-tossed when on his way to Rome to sustain his ap- 
peal to Caesar. Yet so it is. By the great goodness of God I am here, 
and within fifty yards of me the billows of that Mediterranean are 
breaking upon the beach. A thousand associations rush into my mind, 
and I am overwhelmed with emotion. Yet, amidst the multiplicity of 
thoughts and the gush of feelings, there is one prominent thought, 
there is one master feeling. It is the thought of home — it is the feel- 
ing occasioned by a recollection of the endeared objects in that far-off 
land from which I am a temporary exile. The needle does not more 
surely turn towards the north than does my heart towards the west. 
Many degrees of longitude separate us, but my affection for the people 
of my charge does not diminish as I recede. I am surrounded by ob- 
jects of animating interest, which I find pleasure in contemplating; but 
they do not counteract the attractive force of home, nor will they de- 
tain us an hour beyond the time appointed for our return. Were our 
principal object accomplished, we would gladly turn our faces at once 
towards the western continent. 

Our original purpose, you know, was to visit the Holy Land. TVe 
have all along hoped that the political difficulties would be settled in 
season to allow us to proceed without jeopardy or inconvenience. As 
yet the prospect is rather discouraging, and we fear that we shall be 
compelled to relinquish our purpose. At present we could not travel 
in that country without a military escort — a convenience which we did 
not bring with us, and which we could not easily command. The disap- 
pointment to us will be great, for we had anticipated our highest pleas- 
ure in visiting Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jordan, Capernaum, Bethany, 
Gethsemane, and Calvary. But as matters now are, the hazard at- 
tending such a visit is greater than we could prudently run. However 
pleasant to the Crusaders was the thought of laying their bones in the 
land of Judea, I confess there is nothing romantic to me in being 
robbed by a horde of Arabs, or of welcoming among my heart-strings 
the point of a Turkish sabre. Unless, therefore, we hear of something 
more favorable touching the condition of Syria, we shall hardly ven- 
ture into the Levant. In that case Naples will be the utmost limit of 
our tour. We should be glad to visit Greece, but the attractions there 
are not of themselves sufficient to induce us to encounter the discom- 
forts of another sea voyage. 

We arrived in this city on the 8th instant. Why we did not reach 
here, as we intended, a month sooner, you will probably have learned 
from my letter to the congregation. I was detained at Paris by an ill- 
ness, which, at one time, rendered it doubtful whether I should be able 
to proceed another league, but which God in mercy removed, so that, 
after twenty-six days, I resumed my journey. At Avignon, about five 



152 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

hundred miles south of Paris, I had another attack, which delayed us, 
however, only a few days. From Marseilles we came to this place by a 
steam packet, which touched at Genoa, Leghorn, and Civita Vecchia. 
We were five days on the passage, which was rather uncomfortable, 
owing to a heavy, rolling sea, occasioned by southerly winds. We 
really do not fancy sea life, and shall have as little of it as possible. 
Our return route will be by land, through the pope's dominions, Tus- 
cany, Lombardy, Sardinia, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, &c. 

We have seen many interesting objects, from some of which we have 
gained instruction. I cannot in a single letter do anything at descrip- 
tion, and therefore shall not attempt it. But I will just say that, as a 
Baptist, I was particularly interested in the " Baptistery," at Pisa. 
That is the name of a splendid circular edifice, which will contain three 
thousand persons. The architecture is magnificent, and the amount of 
money expended upon it must have been immense. It stands near the 
Grand Cathedral, and was erected for the administration of baptism, in 
those good old days when the ordinance was un corrupted. The font is 
in the centre, elevated a little above the floor, with a fountain which 
supplied a continual stream of pure water. Since the thirteenth cen- 
tury this font has fallen, into disuse, and now stands a silent but keen 
reprover of those who trifle with Christ's institutions. Upon the rim of 
this font a marble basin has been fitted, from which the little, uncon- 
scious candidates are sprinkled. 0, if that font had a tongue, how 
would it speak out, and ask the innovators by what authority they have 
made the change, and so miserably perverted the significance of the holy 
rite ! 

We have visited many cathedrals and churches, and while we have 
admired the architecture and paintings, we have been displeased and 
grieved at the ignorance and superstition of both the priests and the 
people. O, brethren and sisters, bless the Lord that you were born in 
America ! Pail not to appreciate your privileges and your respon- 
sibilities. 

You will, of course, be gratified to know that I feel encouraged re- 
specting my health. It has improved considerably since I reached a 
milder climate. Here the air is soft and balmy, and I think the effect 
will be favorable. The fields are green, farmers are planting their 
seeds, and roses and other flowers are blooming in the gardens. We 
have not all the comforts of home, but we have more than we expected. 

While at Marseilles I received a precious letter from Deacon Beal, 
dated January 1, which gave a most satisfactory account of your condi- 
tion and prospects. I rejoice to hear that you continue united. God 
forbid that any " root of bitterness " should spring up to trouble you, 
that any heresy should creep in to lead any astray, that any of you 



153 

should be driven about by winds of doctrine. Dearly beloved, I am 
persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, 
though I thus speak. " Faithful is he that hath called you," and I am 
confident that he will keep you from schism, and error, and defection. 
I beseech you, keep the cords of discipline straight. Deal kindly with 
one another, and yet faithfully. Seek for the peace and purity of the 
body. Hold together. Work together. Be one in heart, one in action, 
and the God of love and peace will be with you. 

The younger members of the flock, my own dear children in the Lord, 
I exhort to abide true and faithful to their profession. Cultivate 
acquaintance with the older memb*ers. Seek their society, follow their 
counsel. Ye " are my joy and the crown of my rejoicing in the day of 
the Lord Jesus." 

I long to hear that sinners are converted among you, and hope, im- 
mediately on my return, to have many to bury in baptism. I have not 
preached a sermon since I left home, nor performed any other public 
service. Months will elapse before I shall be where a congregation 
could understand me. 

Now, beloved, once more adieu. Pray, pray for us. You have our 
constant prayers. " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with 
you all." 

With unwavering attachment, 

Your absent pastor, 

Baron Stow. 

Other and similar letters may have been written by the 
absent pastor to his church ; but if so, they have been mis- 
laid. Fortunately the record of his movements is so full, that 
we are able to supply every deficiency in this respect. We 
have read not a few books of travel, the scene of which was 
laid in the fair, classic land of Italy ; but we think the record 
of the wanderings of our pilgrim friend will compare favora- 
bly with that of any other traveller. We are to keep in mind 
that he was an invalid ; that excitement and fatigue affected 
his sensitive brain, and often prostrated his spirits. The life 
of a busy sight-seer is one which, while it is full of richest 
enjoyment, makes a peculiar draft on the vital energies. After 
a long, wearisome, and most active day of running about a 
great city, and viewing its objects of interest, it is not always 
easy to» sit down at the late evening hours, and carefully and 
elegantly pen down the results of the day's work. Nowhere, 



154 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

we think, does the great facility for writing, for which the sub- 
ject of this Memoir was always distinguished, show itself more 
conspicuously than in the chaste and beautiful manner in 
which he has recorded the adventures of his life as a tourist. 
Cheerfully we let him act as the guide of our readers, as he 
takes them over spots of so much romantic interest as those 
which he visited in Southern Europe. 

Naples, February 10. Went with our party to the Studii Publici, 
or Museo Borbonico Reale, and examined several of the galleries, 
especially the ancient sculpture and the antique remains, excavated 
from the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

In one gallery we saw the famous Hercules of Glycon, found at 
Rome in the baths of Caracalla, and which is considered one of the finest 
statues extant. It represents Hercules previous to his deification. 
He is a giant of a fellow. 

In much of the ancient sculpture I was deeply interested, espe- 
cially in several of the busts of philosophers, consuls, and emperors. 
The female figures are some of them very fine, and all properly cov- 
ered with drapery. Among these was Agrippina, the mother of Nero, 
seated. There was a magnificent porphyry basin, which is said to have 
been used as a lustral vase in the temple dedicated to iEsculapius. 
In one hall was a colossal statue of Flora, a grand production of the 
Grecian chisel. Atlas, supporting the globe, very properly bends 
beneath the burden. I felt that this figure, like the fable, was in bad 
taste. The statue of Aristides, found in Herculaneum, struck me as 
a masterpiece. 

In one hall was a large painting, a copy of a celebrated one by 
Raphael, at Rome — the Transfiguration. Why should the Saviour 
be represented as elevated above the earth? Why that promiscuous, 
gazing group in the foreground ? The perspective in this copy is not 
good. We saw a copy in Paris with the same faults, yet it is ad- 
mired. Perhaps the original will strike me more favorably. 

The streets of Naples are full of people. They must live out of 
doors by day; and who can blame them in such weather as this? 
About every tenth person appears to be a priest. 

February 13. At eight and a half this morning we started for 
Pompeii, being seven in all. We hired two caleches, one with three 
horses, the other with two, for which we paid ten piastres, and one 
piastre to the coachman. We were two hours and three quarters in 
going the fourteen or fifteen miles. Passing out of Napfes by a 
dirty street, crowded with dirty people, engaged in dirty work, we 



JOURNAL. 155 

crossed the Sebethus by the Ponte della Maddalena, between Naples 
and Portici. The country is beautiful, covered with luxuriant gar- 
dens and vineyards. At Portici is one of the king's palaces. Next 
is Torre del Greco, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius, 
June 15, 1794. This eruption was not from the crater on the summit, 
but towards the middle of the mountain, on the western side. Torre del 
Greco was five horizontal miles from this new volcano, and contained 
eighteen hundred inhabitants. The stream of lava, which took this 
direction, was one mile in width, and was three hours in reaching the 
sea, into which it poured, driving back the water for one third of a 
square mile, and rising above it some twelve or fifteen feet. Every 
part of the country to which the lava ran became a desert, and its 
appearance now is awfully desolate. The next town is Torre della 
Monziata. Along this route we saw many villas, with groves or or- 
chards of lemons and oranges, yellow with fruit. Arrived at Pompeii, we 
engaged a cicerone and commenced our rambles. I had been consider- 
ably excited in anticipation, but as I entered this wonderful place, 
which has lain buried since A. D. 79 under the ashes and cinders 
of Vesuvius, the excitement was more than doubled. My poor heart 
felt the bitter effects, and began to palpitate most uncomfortably. We 
went first into the Comic Theatre, then the Tragic Theatre, then, cross- 
ing to the northern side of the city, over the part which still lies buried, 
and upon which are luxuriant vineyards and fields of esculent vegeta- 
bles, we came to the Amphitheatre. It is very spacious, and is capable 
of seating at least fifteen thousand persons. Its form is elliptical, and 
it has thirty-three rows of seats, with a row of boxes, for ladies, above 
the whole. Here were those bloody shows of which the ancients were 
so fond, but which, thanks to the humanizing influence of Christianity, 
have long since passed into disrepute. In this place the people of 
Pompeii and the surrounding country were assembled, when Vesuvius 
suddenly poured forth those volumes of ashes and pumice-stones which 
covered this devoted city, and hid it for centuries from the face of mor- 
tals. What an hour was that ! Bulwer, in his Last Days of Pompeii, 
has very graphically described it. 

We then proceeded to examine other wonders, among which were 
the public baking-house, the house of Sallust, a chemist's and druggist's 
shop, public baths, houses with large and small fountains, temples of 
Fortune, Isis, Hercules, Romulus, iEsculapius, and Venus, merchant 
shops, banking-houses, the Pantheon, the Forum Civile, the ancient 
aqueducts, and the Villa of Diomed, — of which Bulwer has made so 
much account, — Forum Nundinarium, tribunal of justice, &c, &c. 

In several places we saw beautiful mosaics, shell-work, &c. One of 
the mosaics represented the battle of the Granicus. 



156 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

Only about one third of the city has been disinterred, and that mostly 
by the French. We saw a few men excavating and sifting the earth; 
they are employed by the government ; and all valuables which they find 
are removed to Naples, and placed in the Museo Borbonico Reale. We 
were narrowly watched, especially while examining the better class of 
mosaics, lest we should pocket something belonging to his majesty. We 
had no disposition to steal, but we would gladly have purchased a few 
interesting specimens. 

While we were wandering among these ruins, and laboring hard to 
understand the poor Italian and poorer French of our cicerone, a man 
brought us two bottles of the wine of Pompeii, called " Lachrymae 
Christi," for which we gladly paid four carlini, both because we were 
thirsty and because we wished to try the article of which we have heard 
so much. It is light, and rather palatable. Before our cicerone had 
finished his circuit I was so prostrated as to be compelled to desist, and 
seat myself for breath, and rest upon the front door-steps of Diomed's 
house. Having finished three hours and a half of hurried and excited 
sight-seeing, we took a lunch in our carriages, and started for home, 
driving much more rapidly than in the morning. 

Naples, 14th February, Lord's day. Rose after a night of suffering, 
anxious to devote the day to the Lord in the holiest and most profitable 
manner. Read the last two chapters of Mark and fifteenth of John. Hear- 
ing there would be Episcopal worship near us, we went to the place at 
the hour appointed ; but finding we should be exorbitantly taxed for a 
poor seat, we turned away, and resolved to worship God in our own 
apartments. Found some comfort in bowing at the foot of the throne, 
and acknowledging the mercy of God, in confessing our sins and in im- 
ploring continued favor. Descend, Holy Spirit, to-day, not only upon 
us, but upon the dear people in Baldwin Place. Clothe the gospel 
message with power, and refresh the hearts of thy chosen, and convert 
sinners from the errors of their ways. 

This is now carnival time, and to-day there are exhibitions in one of 
the principal streets. 

February 16. Disappointed. It storms furiously, and so we cannot, 
to-day, ascend Vesuvius — the chimney-top of Italy. We regret to lose 
so much time, but we would not murmur. God has some kind design 
in thus defeating our plans. How ought we to rejoice that there is One 
above us who is infinite in knowledge, wisdom, goodness, and power! 
How much is comprised in this short expression, " The Lord reigneth " ! 
May I never, at any time, or in any place, forget it. Read this morn- 
ing several chapters in Job, and was struck, as I have often been before, 
with his complaint in chapter nine, verses thirty-two and thirty-three — 
especially the latter. 



JOURNAL. 157 

The time which our travelling party proposed to give to 
Naples having expired, they set their faces towards Home. 
We regret that we are compelled to give so brief an account 
of their visit to the Eternal City. The selections we have 
made from the journal of Mr. Stow are perhaps no more in- 
teresting than those which we have omitted; but we are 
forced to draw the line somewhere, and have endeavored to 
lead our readers to some of the places which may be regarded 
as most worthy of note. 

Eome, February 20. Yesterday morning we were called at two. I 
had slept none, and felt quite overcome by the excitement and fatigue 
of the two preceding days. In descending to take our seats in carriages 
which had been engaged to convey us to the diligence office, we found 
that another imposition had been practised upon us. The carriages were 
not those which we had engaged, and for which we had agreed to pay a 
piastre each. But it was too late to complain, and we rolled away from 
the " Hotel de Geneve, chez J. Mounier," without a tear or regret. At 
three we set off in the " rotonde " of a voiture which was none of the 
best, but which we were determined to like, for it was bearing us away 
from a land of despotism, beggary, and perfidy. We were not sure that 
we should find anything better in Rome ; but we could conceive nothing 
worse. Naples is an unclean place, physically and morally. 

At the gate of the city our passports were demanded and vised. The 
first place of interest was Capua, where our passports were again called 
for and vised. Here we saw prisoners chained two and two, and sweep- 
ing the streets. The chains were about their ankles and bodies. This 
city is older than Rome itself. Here Hannibal's army encamped, and 
was enervated by the luxurious habits of the place. 

At San Germano we breakfasted and had our passports vised. This 
town is built partly at the foot of Monte Casino and partly on the accliv- 
ity. A baronial castle of the middle ages overhangs the town, and the 
pinnacle of the mountain is crowned by a most spacious and splendid 
Benedictine convent. A little beyond the town, on the right, are the 
remains of an ancient Amphitheatre, which Mr. B. and myself visited. 
The hotel at San Germano is called " Grand Albergo del Marco Var- 
sone." A short distance from our route (the Via Latina) we saw the 
ancient city of Aquinam, the birthplace of Juvenal. 

At Arce our passports were again vised, as also at Ceprano, the fron- 
tier town of the Ecclesiastical States, — making five times during the 
day. In each case we paid a little buono mano — a thing which every 



158 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Italian demands when he has done anything for one, even though paid 
a stipulated price. 

On our arrival at Ceprano, we were driven into the custom-house, 
and the doors were closed and guarded by a soldier. Our luggage was 
then taken off and examined by a very quiet, civil young man. He 
made an apology for the trouble he occasioned us, but said he must do 
it "pour formalite" We then went to the Hotel de l'Europe — a 
favorite name for inns on the Continent, — and found a good supper and 
a tolerable bed. 

From nine till two we slept well, when we were again called — a 
Eoma ; and we rose, partly refreshed. 

The road yesterday was remarkably fine, and led through a most 
beautiful country : what a pity that such a country had not an intelli- 
gent, industrious, enterprising population ! Let New Englanders have 
this soil, and they would soon make much of it. Our route lay between 
the ridges of the Apennines, and was exceedingly level. To-day it has 
been more hilly. Near Frosinone the ascent is very steep, and though 
we had eight horses we were obliged to prefix a yoke of oxen. 

At half past eleven we set our faces once more towards Rome. At 
two o'clock we saw, across the Campagna, the towering dome of St. 
Peter's, and at a little past four we entered the Porta Maggiore. In 
half an hour more we were in the custom-house, surrounded by sol- 
diers, and our luggage was subjected to another examination. Having 
paid the conductor and some half a dozen others their " buono memo," 
we started for our hotel. We had scarce entered the street, when we 
were met by the carnival procession — a nonsensical, farcical rabble — in 
carriages and on foot ; and we had no small difficulty in picking our 
way. At length, between five and six, we reached the Hotel de Russie, 
near the Piazza del Popolo, and engaged apartments for a week. 

Here we are in Rome, — the Eternal City, — once the mistress of 
the world. What has she been! What has she done! What people 
have lived here ! What scenes have been enacted ! How full of inter- 
est are the associations suggested by the history of this spot ! Let me 
survey the ground and gain instruction. 

February 21, Lord's day. First Sabbath in Rome. What did Paul 
do the first Sabbath he spent here? Mrs. G. and myself went to the 
place of English worship, and heard the Episcopal service, and a clever 
discourse well read. The preacher's text was Haggai i. 2-6. His prin- 
cipal topic was, " self-examination as a means of grace." I should think 
the assembly amounted in number to five hundred. It was interesting 
to attend so good a service in such a place. Protestant worship in 
Rome ! O, how important that the true light should be held up in this 
dark place ! I could not help thinking of Paul. Where was " his own 



JOURNAL. 159 

hired house," in which he preached, a prisoner? How did he preach? 
Acts xxviii. 17-31. 

February 22. Called on Mr. Green, the American consul, who re- 
sides at the Four Fountains on the Quirinal, and on Tortonia & Co., 
Piazza di Venizia. Afterwards hired a window in one of the churches 
at the head of the Corso to witness the show of the carnival. To us it 
seemed a very silly affair. Many of the people, mostly young, were 
arrayed in fantastic costumes, with hideous masks, and " cut up " all 
kinds of " antics " and " capers." Thousands were in carriages, and 
tens of thousands on foot. Flowers, sugar-plums, and oranges were 
thrown in profusion. At five o'clock a gun was fired, and the centre of 
the Corso was cleared. Twelve horses, one for each apostle (?), were 
then brought out, arrayed somewhat like the people, and let loose. Off 
they started down the Corso. The one which arrived first at the foot of 
the Corso drew a prize. This is the seventh day of the carnival. To- 
morrow is the last and greatest. What is the origin of this fete ? How 
long has it been celebrated ? What does it mean ? It is certainly con- 
ducted with great spirit, and without disorder. Tens of thousands 
passed before us, and acted foolishly enough ; but we saw not one per- 
son intoxicated or angry, or guilty of any breach of decency or deco- 
rum. 

February 23. The grand farce is over. There has been to-day a 
repetition of the scenes of yesterday, with an additional one more silly 
than all. After the horses had finished their race, the people in the car- 
riages lighted their candles, and the sport consisted in efforts to keep 
them from being extinguished by those on foot. When the last candle 
was put out, then all retired from the field. To-morrow is Ash-Wednes- 
day, the beginning of Lent. A fine preparation this for forty days of 
self-examination and self-mortification ! 

February 24. At nine this morning we were on our way to St. Peter's 
to witness the ceremonies of Ash- Wednesday. The services were in 
the Capella Sistina, where we had an opportunity to see the pope in 
function. He and his cardinals were gorgeously arrayed, and made 
quite a show. The services lasted about two hours, including music, 
prayers, bowing, genuflexion, crossing the heads of the cardinals with 
ashes, kissing the pope's toe and the hem of his robe, with a harangue 
in Latin by one of the ecclesiastics, which lasted about twelve minutes, 
and reminded me of the salutatory oration at a college commencement. 
The whole affair struck me very unfavorably. Can it be that the pope 
and his cardinals, all of whom appear to be men of years and intellect, 
consider this as Christian worship? What does it comprise that re- 
sembles either the spirit or the practice of New Testament Christianity ? 
The pope has a large military establishment. What a combination, 



160 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

the church and the military! Jesus said, " My kingdom is not of this 
world." The kingdom of the pope, then, is not the kingdom of Jesus. 
His soldiers are to be seen at all points throughout his dominions. 
They were employed in large numbers to-day at all the doors and ave- 
nues leading to the Sistine Chapel. 

February 25. At nine this morning we took a carriage and a valet- 
de-place for the day, and set off with the intention of seeing as much 
as possible. We commenced at the Capitoline Hill. The modern Cap- 
itol contains galleries of works of art, some of which are interesting. 

On the site of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus stands the church of 
the Ara Coeli, to which we ascended on the south side by steps that led 
to the ancient temple. Passing through the church, we heard persons 
at prayer behind the screen that concealed the high altar, who lifted up 
their voices as if they intended to be heard. Passing near a side altar, 
I took up a card which contained a prayer to the " Blessed Virgin,'' 
commencing, " O, Maria, dolce Rifugio de miseri peccatori," &c. Such 
prayers are offered by persons professing to know the true Refuge ! 
Alas ! Alas ! Having passed through the church, we came to the long 
flight of ancient steps which led to the front of the temple, one hun- 
dred and twenty-four in number. 

In the rear of the Palace of the Conservatore we saw the famous 
Tarpeian Rock, from which those declared guilty of treason to their 
country were hurled headlong. It was once very high, but the earth is 
now filled up at the base more than forty feet above its ancient level. 
Prom this rock Manlius was precipitated, and found an inglorious death. 

We then descended into the Roman Forum, and endeavored, though 
with poor success, to trace the localities of the memorable spot. The 
rubbish of successive centuries has not been wholly removed, and the 
appearance of the place is very uninviting. There are the foundations 
of the several edifices, and we fixed upon the probable location of the 
ancient rostra whence the orators harangued the people. There are 
standing three pillars of the Temple of Jupiter Tonans, and eight of 
the Temple of Fortune. There are some remains of the Temple of 
Concord. The Arch of Septimius Severus and the Column of Phocas 
are in a good state of preservation. Three columns of the Temple of 
Jupiter Stator are standing. 

We descended into the Mamertine prison, where many distinguished 
personages found their death — Jugurtha by starvation, Lentulus Ce- 
thegus, Statilius, and others by strangulation. Here, it is said, Peter 
and Paul were imprisoned ; and we were shown an indentation in the 
wall apparently produced by a man's head. Our guide said that a sol- 
dier struck St. Peter a hard box on the side of his head that drove him 
against the rock with such violence as to make this impression ! Peter 



JOURNAL. 161 

roust have had a very hard head, or this tufa rock would never have 
yielded in this manner. It was in the lower Tullian prison that these 
apostles were confined, and there stands the pillar to which they are 
said to have been chained. The chain is preserved in St. Peter's ! 
At the bottom is a spring of water said to have been used at the bap- 
tism of Processus and Martinian, the keepers of the prison. Over this 
prison is the Church of St. Gieuseppe. 

Passing the Temples of Vesta, of Antonius and Faustina, of Romu- 
lus and Remus, the Temple of Peace, or Basilica of Constantine, the 
Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Venus and Rome, 
the Meta Sudans, and the pedestal of the Colossus of Nero, we came 
to the Colosseum, the proud relic of antiquity, the admiration of the 
world. Description of it is out of the question. Its dimensions and 
proportions are magnificent : circumference, one thousand six hundred 
and sixty-one feet; height, one hundred and fifty-seven feet; length, 
two hundred and eighty-five feet ; breadth, one hundred and eighty-two 
feet. Vasi says it had room on the seats for eighty-seven thousand 
persons, and on the terrace for twenty thousand. There the beasts and 
the gladiators fought. There the people delighted themselves with 
scenes of suffering and blood. There, too, the meek and humble fol- 
lowers of Jesus were torn to pieces by tigers, lions, and leopards, while 
the people looked on and rejoiced in their agony. (Did it take its 
name from its immense size, or from the neighboring bronze colossal 
statue of Nero — one hundred and twenty feet ?) Thence we went to 
the Basilic of St. John Lateran, the principal temple of Rome, and per- 
haps of the Catholic world. We passed through the Baptistery of Con- 
stantine, very inferior to the one at Pisa. In the church they pretend 
to show the table on which Christ instituted the Supper, as also in silver 
reliquaries the heads of the apostles Paul and Peter. We had not the 
curiosity to allow the priest to show us these relics. At St. Peter's 
they will offer to show us where the bodies of these apostles repose ! 

In the rear of the Lateran palace we entered a portico erected by 
Sixtus V., under which he placed the staircase "which," it is said, 
" existed in the palace of Pilate at Jerusalem, up which our Saviour 
passed several times. Having been thus sanctified, the faithful now 
ascend it on their knees, and descend it by the four lateral staircases." 
It consists of twenty-eight marble steps, so consumed by friction that 
it became necessary to cover them with wood. They are now called 
" Scala Santa." We then repaired to St. Peter's, and took a general 
view of the galleries of the Vatican. I can now say no more than 
merely that everything is splendid, altogether surpassing my concep- 
tion. Our cicerone to-day pointed out the Tower of Nero, from which 
the tyrant looked out upon Rome burning by his orders. He said that 
11 



162 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

women who had bad husbands ascend on their knees the high steps 
leading to the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus "praying that the great 
one would change their heads and make them better." 

We to-day visited the Golden House of Nero, and the Thermae of 
Titus. The Forum Romanum and parts adjacent have been used as a 
cattle market ; hence it is known among modern Romans by the very 
unclassic name of " Campo Vaccino." When at the Basilic of St. John 
Lateran, we saw the remains of the aqueduct of Nero. The aqueduct 
of Claudius we saw as we entered the city, on the 20th, by the Porta 
Maggiore. 

February 26. Went out this morning alone, and walked round the 
Piazza del Popolo, and examined the various objects — the fountains, 
the statuary, the Porta del Popolo, the obelisk, and the church Gesu e 
Maria, where a priest was officiating — reading prayers with most irrev- 
erent rapidity and lightness of manner. 

S. Carlo, one of the most magnificent churches in the city, is divided 
into three naves by pilasters of the Corinthian order. Over the prin- 
cipal entrance are the words, " Domine, dilexi decus domus tuae;" over 
each of the six arcades of the central nave, and below the transept, is 
an inscription which I copied. 

Over a fine picture of the Virgin, in a side chapel, are the words, " Tu 
sola universas haerises interemisti." 

Next I went to the Piazza Colonna, which occupies part of the forum 
of Antoninus Pius, and where is a column raised by the senate to Mar- 
cus Aurelius, in commemoration of his victories in Germany. In front 
of the column is the general post office, and in the adjoining Piazza of 
Monte Citoria, which occupies the site of the ancient theatre of Statil- 
ius Taurus, is another obelisk, evidently Egyptian. In the immediate 
neighborhood are the remains of the Temple of Antoninus. 

I passed the church S. Maria in Via Lata, said to be " built on the spot 
occupied by the centurion with whom St. Paul resided when sent to 
Rome by Festus." I thought that Paul " dwelt by himself in his own 
hired house." Acts xxviii. 30. They show a fountain which they pre- 
tend sprang up to enable the apostle to baptize those who were con- 
verted under his ministry ! I passed also the church of St. Silvestro 
in Capite, where they pretend to have the head of John the Baptist. 
These two churches I did not enter. 

February 27. At half past ten, with our carriage and cicerone, we 
sallied out sight-seeing. Our first object was the Baths of Caracalla. 
These ruins are immense in extent. The form of the edifice was 
square, measuring ten hundred and fifty feet on each side. We passed 
over portions of the ancient roads Via Appia and Via Latina, and 
visited the Temple of Vesta, the Arch of Janus Quadrifrons, the Porta 



JOUEXAL. 163 

Latina (now closed up), the ancient city walls, with rooms for the Pre- 
torian Guards, the ancient fish market, and the Circus Maxiinus, now a 
vegetable garden. 

The family tomb of Augustus, recently discovered, is deep — perhaps 
twenty-five feet — and square. We descended by the antique steps, 
and viewed the scenes below. In the wall are nine rows of niches, one 
above another. Each niche contains two urns, filled with ashes and 
calcined human bones. Over each niche is a small marble slab, on 
which are engraved the names of the persons whose ashes there repose. 
It was a solemn sight. We were looking upon the remains of persons 
who lived and died before the Christian era ! 

We descended also into the Columbarium of Augustus, where in urns 
are deposited the ashes of the slaves and freedmen of Augustus. We 
descended likewise into the tombs of the Scipios, where sleep the ashes 
of great men, who, in their time, astonished the world by their valor. 

In the church of S. Stefano Rotondo, formerly the Temple of Claudius, 
we were horrified by paintings representing the modes by which the 
early Christians were tortured. The question came home with power, 
Have we piety that would endure such trials? Both there and at an- 
other church they pretend to have the body of Stephen. 

We next went to the Palatine Hill, and wandered among the ruins of 
the Palace of the Caesars. Almond trees were in bloom there, and a 
gardener was hoeing cauliflowers and artichokes. From the roof of the 
library we had a fine view of the six other hills of Rome — the Aventine 
on the west, the Ccelian on the south, Esquiline on the north and north- 
west. The Palatine once held all Rome. Afterwards it was not large 
enough for Rome's tyrant, Nero. 

Returned to our new lodgings, and then went out to the Villa Bor- 
ghese, perhaps the most splendid in Italy. The gallery contains a choice 
collection of frescoes and sculpture. The grounds are finely laid out, 
interspersed with serpentine, shady walks, fountains, Grecian temples, 
Egyptian obelisks, statuary, parks, gardens, &c, including also a church 
and a cafe. 

The Borghese family have a palace within the walls of the city, dis- 
tinguished for its richness and splendor. Rome abounds in palaces as 
well as churches, both of which are interesting to strangers on account 
of their rich collections of works of art. Vasi, in his New Guide to 
Rome, recommends eighty-eight churches as worthy of being visited, 
as also thirty-one palaces, fifteen gates, nine villas, fifteen galleries, and 
nine bridges. 

Evening. Took a walk by moonlight, and in the clear blue sky, and 
the brilliant moon, and the starry constellations, saw God, and experi- 
enced, in communion with him, something of the blessedness promised 



164 MEMOIR OF DK. STOW. 

to such as have fellowship with the Father. It was good to turn away 
from man and all his works, and contemplate perfect Intelligence. It 
was good to hold converse with the Great, the Pure, the Good. O, how 
small did all around me appear, how insignificant, how shadowy and 
worthless ! For a little while I felt swallowed up in God. A perpetu- 
ity of this feeling would be heaven. Lord, grant me this heaven, 
through Jesus Christ, thine own dear Son. Amen ! 

February 28. At daylight the bell of Monte Santo, a church very 
near us, commenced ringing, whose tone at once reminded us of the 
bell on the Middle Street Baptist Church, in Portsmouth. Thence fol- 
lowed a long train of associations, some pleasing, some painful. And 
the tears involuntarily started. 

The history of the five years passed in Portsmouth is deeply engraven 
on my memory, and will never, never be effaced. They were to me 
important years, and the effect of the discipline which I there had is 
daily apparent. 

At a quarter before eleven went to the place of Protestant worship, 
which was well filled with orderly people. The service was well read, 
but I should have enjoyed it more had it been less prolix. Not less than 
five times was the Lord's Prayer repeated. There was no music, and 
yet the service previous to the sermon occupied one hour and a half. 
The Scriptures read were Gen. xix., Ps. cxxxii.-cxxxiv., Luke xii., 1 Cor. 
vi., and Matt. iv. The sermon, founded on Lam. iii. 40, was a contin- 
uation of the subject of last Sabbath — self-examination. The preacher 
treated it with special reference to repentance, which he very properly 
defined to be " that godly mourning for sin which leads to godly refor- 
mation of life." In some parts of his discourse he was very plain and 
pointed, but in others he softened down the severity of truth in a way 
to injure the effect. At times I felt the power of his searching interro- 
gations, and lifted my heart to God in prayer that the scrutiny might do 
me good; and I could not be otherwise than grieved when he began to 
explain and to apologize, as if he was afraid lest I should examine a lit- 
tle too deeply, or repent more than I ought. As I retired I felt that 
every one might say, " Well, we had a very good, faithful discourse, 
but it was not intended forme; the preacher made me an exception." 
That is preaching which God will hardly bless. 0, why cannot those 
who profess to be " the messengers of truth, the legates of the skies," 
be willing, like their Master, to make themselves " of no reputation," 
and declare the whole truth, regardless of man's smile or frown, approv- 
al or censure. In my soul I honor the man who can say, with truth, 
" 1 have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Lord, 
give me grace ever to be faithful to the souls of men. 

It is now Lent, during which the people in Europe, and some in 



JOURNAL. 165 

America, profess to humble themselves before God, and to pray that by 
practising abstinence they may so subdue the flesh to the spirit, that 
they may be able to attend to the godly motions produced within them 
by the Holy Ghost. Mrs. Stow inquired of me to-day if I did not 
think the influence of Lent was salutary in checking the people and re- 
quiring them to give time to self-examination and devotion. Unques- 
tionably some good may result from the practice of observing forty 
successive days in this manner. But it should be remembered that this 
service is not required by Christ or his apostles. It savors more of the 
old than of the new dispensation. If observed as required, it is bur- 
densome. If otherwise, it is mockery and hypocrisy. Besides, it is a 
temptation to the people to confine their self-examination, and mortifi- 
cation, and repentance to this period, and live loosely the rest of the 
year. 

One grand objectionable feature in the whole Papal system is, the 
making of religion to consist in the observance of certain days and 
seasons, while to other days and seasons extraordinary indulgence is 
allowed. The Church of England has too much of this radical fault. 
O, when will the nominally Christian world embrace the simple gospel, 
and regulate their whole conduct by its simple precepts ? A great 
change is to be wrought before the millennium can commence. 

March 3. We went this morning to the "Wednesday market, in the 
Piazza Navona. There were all sorts of folks with all sorts of things 
for sale, and there were all sorts of noises by men, women, and chil- 
dren, dogs, horses, and donkeys. It was a grotesque but interesting 
spectacle. 

At one o'clock we sallied forth by the * ancient Porta Capena, af- 
terwards Porta Appia. The first object in our route was the Church 
of St. Sebastian, through which we descended into the Catacombs, 
which are very extensive, in the form of corridors or galleries. The 
excavations were first made for the purpose of obtaining the sand, 
now called pozzolana, or Roman cement. In the times of the per- 
secutions they were enlarged by the Christians, who here concealed 
themselves, maintained religious worship, and buried their dead. 
Many of the bones are now sacred relics. 

Returning through the Appian Gate, we went to the Church of St. 
Pietro in Vincoli, where they pretend to have the chain with which the 
apostle Peter was bound when imprisoned by Herod at Jerusalem ! The 
statue of Moses, from a design by Michael Angelo, is a masterpiece of 
modern sculpture. It is of colossal size, and is full of soul. In the trib- 
une is a consular chair taken from the Thermae of Titus. 

March 4. The great roads of ancient Rome ran from the golden pil- 
lar in the Forum to the gates, and thence to the extremities of the em- 



166 MEMOIR OF DE. STOTV. 

pire. The Via Appia extends to Brundusiuni, the port whence the 
Komans embarked for Greece. At Pompeii we saw portions of this 
"Way with the cuts of the carriage-wheels in the stone pavement. The 
wheels of their carriages must have been a little less than four feet 
apart. Rogers, in his Italy, speaking of the Forum, says, — 

" It was once 
And long the centre of this universe, 
The Forum; whence a mandate, eagle- winged, 
"Went to the ends of the earth." 

Along the Appian Way, leading to Cecelia, Metilla, &c, we saw half 
dilapidated pyramids, which were probably sepulchral monuments. O, 
what millions have mingled with the dust we tread ! 

" The Appian, once an avenue 
Of monuments most glorious, palaces, 
Their doors sealed up, and silent as the night, 
The dwellings of the illustrious dead." 

March 6. At eight o'clock in the evening rode to the Colosseum, to 
see it by moonlight. Disappointed to find some fifty people there, all 
for the same purpose. I wished to enjoy the scene alone, but could 
hardly distinguish my own thoughts amidst the universal chattering of 
Italians, French, and English, and I know not what other languages. 
Yet the view fully answered my expectations. Every time I have seen 
the immense pile it has appeared grander than before. To-night it has 
been seen in a new light — shaded, sombre, and impressive. As the 
moon poured her silver beams among the broken arches and dilapidated 
corridors, my mind ran back through the hundreds of years since this 
pile was reared, and I thought of the thousands, perhaps millions, who 
had there assembled to be entertained, all of whom have long since gone to 
their account. 0. what changes have these walls witnessed in the world 
around them ! "What scenes have been enacted within them ! How 
many of my dear brethren and sisters in Christ Jesus have there been 
tortured and torn to pieces to gratify the worse than brutal passions of 
a blood-loving people ! "While musing thus, the bell of St. John Later- 
an struck nine, sending its heavy echoes among these ruins, and re- 
minding me that my time is also running away, and soon will leave me 
and my works remotely in the past. 

March 8. Walked with Mrs. Stow to the Forum Eomanum and Col- 
osseum. About that region my mind loves to linger. There are gran- 
deur and solemnity in the associations. 

"We are now to bid adieu to Eome. The twenty-two days spent here 
have been days of intense and exciting interest, but never to be re- 
peated. 



DEPARTURE FROM ITALY. 167 

The party left Rome on the 15th of March, and proceeding 
north, reached Florence on the 22d. Under date of March 24, 
he speaks of calling on Governor Everett, who soon after 
returned the call, and spent an hour in pleasant chat with 
his fellow-countrymen. " He forcibly reminded us of home." 
The chief places of attraction in Florence were visited. We 
should, did our limits allow, love to wander with our friends 
amid these interesting scenes. Several days were given to 
Florence and Turin. In the latter place Mr. Stow writes in 
his journal that more than five months have passed away 
since he had preached or offered a public prayer, and he 
longs to be again in the pulpit. In leaving Italy, after a two 
months' residence in that beautiful land, he says, " I have seen 
much, thought much, and felt much, and though I have been 
deeply interested, yet I have not one regret in turning my 
back upon the country and all it contains. America, Amer- 
ica ! my native land, the sphere of my labors — my home. 
Lord, speed my way to her loved shores, and let me soon 
resume my work in connection with thy redeemed people." 



168 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Crossing Mont Cenis. — Geneva. — London. — Visit to Barley 
Wood. — Embarkation for Boston. — Home again. — Called 
again to the presidency of waterville college. — elected 
Secretary of the Triennial Convention. — Revival of 1842. — 
Its Results. — Physical Prostration. 

1841-1844. 

We have followed Mr. Stow and his Mends, as they have 
visited the principal cities, and travelled over a portion of 
sunny Italy. No one can read his journal and not feel that 
there was an unwonted elasticity to his spirits, and that he 
entered most heartily into the enjoyment of the scenes in 
which he found himself. He was now to pass from Italy to 
France. He took one of the most frequented routes of travel, 
crossing the famous Pass of Mont Cenis. He has given us 
a charming description of the passage, which was prepared 
by his own pen, for the columns of one of our denom- 
inational papers, after his return, which will be read with 
peculiar pleasure, since it is hardly probable that a similar 
sketch will be written again, as Mont Cenis has been tun- 
nelled, and the travel hereafter will be through the mountain, 
and not over it. The sketch bears the title 

CROSSING MONT CENIS. 

We left Rome, four of us, with the addition of a courier, in a hired 
carriage, and travelled leisurely northward, visiting the most interesting 
places along our chosen route, as Sienna, Florence, Bologna, Modena, 
Parma, and Milan. Our journey up the valley of the Po .was every 
way interesting. On our left was the range of the Apennines. On our 
right were the Alps, rising in majestic peaks, encased in snow, and 



CROSSING MONT CENIS. 169 

glittering in the sunlight like burnished silver. I have seen them on the 
northern side all the way from Munich to Lyons, and thence down the 
western side to Nice ; but the most picturesque view is from the plains 
of Venetia and Lombardy, where their continuity is less broken, and the 
eye can survey them in their extension stretching along hundreds of 
miles, like an impassable barrier reared by Omnipotence. It must have 
been of this southern aspect that Heinrich Stilling wrote, " When one 
looks at the whole Alpine range, as it lies along the horizon, it appears 
like a great saw, with which planets might be cut asunder." 

It was late in the month of March, the weather was mild, vegetation 
was coming forward in luxuriance, the fruit trees were loaded with 
bloom. That valley is eminently fertile, and, were it cultivated by 
almost any people but Italians, might be the granary of Europe. It has 
been for twenty centuries the battle-ground of nations. Probably no 
territory on earth, of equal extent, has taken into its soil the blood and 
bones of so many slaughtered human beings. It is, on an enlarged 
scale, the Esdraelon of Europe. As I passed over its rich plains, the 
history of wars from the days of Julius Csesar to the time of Napoleon 
the Great came up fresh from the depths of memory, and I felt as if 
traversing a cemetery of the ages. 

We passed the first Sabbath in April in Turin, and the next day 
started for the Pass of Mont Cenis. Our course was due north. On our 
left were the Maritime and the High Alps, a range extending along the 
western border of Piedmont, and dividing the kingdom of Sardinia from 
Southern France. During this day's journey my mind was busy with 
the remembered history of the Waldenses, whose home in the days of 
their persecution was in the gorges and among the fastnesses of the 
snow-clad mountains near whose base we were travelling. I thought 
of the inimitable sonnet written by John Milton when he was Cromwell's 
secretary : — 

" Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones 
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ; 
Even them who kept thy Truth so pure of old, 
When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones, 
Forget not : in thy book record their groans, 
Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold, 
Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that rolled 
Mother and infant down the rocks. The moans 

The vales redoubled to the hills, and they 
To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow 
O'er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway 
The triple tyrant, that from these may grow 

A hundredfold, who, having learned the way, 
Early may fly the Babylonian woe ! " 

We reached Susa early in the evening. It had rained all the day on 
the plains ; but as carriages came in from the mountains, the passengers 



170 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

gave fearful accounts of the snow-storms above that had made journey- 
ing through the pass difficult and perilous. Such stories made us 
anxious for the morrow, and wakefulness that night was not diminished 
by misbehavior on the part of our coachman, or by a brawling torrent, 
the Doria Eiparia, that came rushing down from Mont Genevre, and 
passed directly under our window. We were called at three in the 
morning of the 6th of April, and soon commenced the ascent with five 
horses and a postilion. In one hour we found snow, that deepened as 
we ascended. 

The road of Mont Cenis was constructed by Napoleon I., in 1811, to 
facilitate his military movements. Giovanni Fabroni was the engineer, 
and three thousand men were employed five months upon the work. It 
connects the valley of the Arc in Savoy with that of the Doria Eiparia 
in Piedmont. Its highest point is five thousand eight hundred and 
ninety-eight feet above the Mediterranean. Several galleries, zigzag 
or serpentine in their course, were cut through the solid rock, one of 
which is two thousand feet in length. On the most exposed parts of the 
route, Napoleon had caused to be erected twenty-six small inns, — 
Eicoveri, or refuges, — provided with bells to be rung in storms and 
fogs, and tenanted by cantonniers, persons employed to keep the roads 
passable, and render all needed assistance to travellers. To support 
these fifty men and families a tax is levied by fixed tariff on every horse, 
mule, and carriage passing over the road. 

At the first stopping-place, Molaretto, we began to realize that we 
were among the Alps, first, because of the lofty peak of Rochemelon, 
that towered far up into the heavens, and second, by the appearance of 
the cretins, idiotic dwarfs, afflicted with the goitre. As several of that 
class, with heavy pouches hanging from their throats, came out and 
stared at us, one of the ladies of our company exclaimed, " Merciful 
Father! are these thy children?" Hardly did they seem human. 

Our carriage moved heavily through the deep drifts, and was kept 
upright only by the aid of four men whom we employed for the purpose. 
The horses floundered, the wind blew furiously, the voiturier swore in 
both French and Italian, and reminded us that he should be entitled to 
large buono mano, and altogether our condition and prospects were any- 
thing but enviable. A little above the Pass of Gaigloine, the road is cut 
through rock, and we found it full of dangers. On the left was a high 
peak, with its masses of snow nearly overhanging us. At the right was 
a chasm of fearful depth, into which, notwithstanding the parapet wall, 
an avalanche might any moment plunge us. For several rods we held 
our breath and felt quite unromantic. Our guide-book told us of terri- 
ble disasters at that point. A little farther on, after passing " Ilicovero 
No. III." we were stopped by a mass of snow, which had just come down 



CBOSSING MONT CENIS. 171 

from the precipitous side of the mountain — a real, though comparatively 
small, avalanche. We all left the carriage, and made our way through 
and over the snow to No. IV., fifty rods distant, the ladies being lifted 
over the worst heaps by the strong arms of our guides. We found a 
good fire, and though the place was not very inviting, it was a "Refuge," 
and we blessed the memory of Napoleon for so much comfort. The 
cantonniers were on hand, and in about an hour they had opened a way 
for the carriage. Soon we Avere moving along the wild and terrific plain 
of San Nicolo, which presented to us scenery of the grandest kind. O, 
what mountain peaks ! We seemed shut it, with no way of egress but 
up, by winding galleries, the almost perpendicular sides of a mountain 
whose top was rendered invisible by clouds of snow driven by the wind. 
In some such place as this, though in another part of the great Alpine 
range, Byron must have written, — 

" Above me are the Alps, 
The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls 
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, 
And throned Eternity in icy halls 
Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls 
The avalanche — the thunderbolt of snow ! 
All that expands the spirit, yet appalls, 
Gathers around these summits as to show 
How Earth may pierce to Heaven, yet leave vain man below." 

Up along those galleries we slowly rose, turning by very acute angles 
from one to another, which seemed to be almost parallel. Above us we 
could not see ; below was that wild gorge through which we had come ; 
away was that Italy we had left rejoicing in sun and shower, verdure 
and bloom. We looked, and bade adieu to a land rich in historic associ- 
ations — a land of bright skies and beautiful scenery, but wofully 
cursed by the rule of the Man of Sin ! Suddenly one of the guides 
appeared at the carriage window, and pointing up, exclaimed, " La 
Grande Croix ! La Grande Croix ! " There, indeed, was the desired 
summit, and on it a large red cross. In our circumstances, having gone 
through many dangers, the words of the guide were musical. How 
suggestive of something higher, raising the thoughts from the physical 
to the spiritual, turning them from Sinai to Calvary ! 

After dining at the " Hotel de la Grande Croix," our carriage was 
put upon a traineau, a kind of ill-shapen sled, and we set off for the 
point of descent. For six miles our route lay along what is called the 
plain of Mont Cenis, the road being so constructed as neither to as- 
cend nor descend. The snow was deep, but the faithful cantonniers had 
excavated a path. On our left was the towering peak of Mont Cenis, 
reaching up many thousand feet, and glowing ever as the sunlight came 
through the rifts in the wild and angry clouds. Our progress was mod- 



172 MEMOIE OF DE. STOW. 

prate, owing to the constant drifting of the snow, and the rickety con- 
dition of our improvised vehicle. Near the lake, of which many strange 
stories are told, we came upon the Hospice, founded in the ninth cen- 
tury hy Charlemagne for the accommodation of travellers, suppressed 
at the time of the French revolution, and restored by Xapoleon. As 
then we were entering Savoy, a man came out in a dilapidated military 
uniform, with a greasy chapeau a la Bonaparte, and asked to see 
our passports. After looking them over and finding all right, he 
touched his cap, and then extended his hand, and in the tone of a men- 
dicant said. u Pour-boire. messieurs." I repeated his words, as if not 
understanding him. ; ' 0, t rink- geld." he replied; "luono mano." He 
could beg in three languages, and so I gave him a small coin, that 
seemed to more than satisfy him, for he doffed his chapeau, and was 
profuse in thanks. 

At about five in the afternoon we had passed so far through the snow- 
drifts as to be able to resume our wheels and proceed without post-horses 
and guides. The descent of the mountain was by six long galleries. 
From the top it seemed as if it would require but a few minutes to reach 
Lans-le-bourg, which lay far down in the valley of the Arc. But the 
descent, though rapid, was so circuitous as to take an hour and a half. 
The passage from Susa is generally made in eight hours. We were 
fifteen. That day will never be forgotten. 

To the truthfulness and life-like accuracy of this descrip- 
tion those who have crossed Mont Cenis can bear witness. 
The impression made upon the mind by the sublinie scenery 
will never be erased from memory. At Geneva Mr. Stow 
lingered for a day or two. His description of a Sabbath spent 
in this beautiful city is worthy of record. 

Geneva, April 11, Lord's day. A most beautiful morning. Mont 
Blanc is distinctly visible. The lake is perfectly placid, and reflects 
from its mirror-like surface the buildings and eminences upon its mar- 
gin. The streets are quiet, and the few people who are moving to and 
fro seem, by their gait and expression, to recognize the sacredness 
of the day. for the delicious comfort of a New England Sabbath ! 
Shall I have any tiling like it to-day ? 

At ten o'clock we went in search of Eev. Caesar Malaus place of wor- 
ship. Passing out of the Porte de Kive, we found it outside of the ram- 
parts, and were disappointed to learn that it would not be open for ser- 
vice until two o'clock. A woman, who seemed to be the porter, 
unlocked the door, and let us in. The place is small, and exceedingly 
plain. I then left Mrs. S. in the garden, and went to the house of Mr. 



SABBATH AT GENEVA. 173 

Malan, to whom I had brought a letter introductory from Mr. Edward 
J. Woolsey, of New York, one of his former pupils, and only brother 
of the late C. W. Woolsey, who was lost in the Lexington, and who was 
also a pupil of Mr. M. He is gone on a mission to the south of France, 
and will not return till the middle of May. One of his daughters, 
who speaks some. English, received me, and answered my questions 
quite intelligently. Mr. M. suffers less from persecution than formerly, 
and has the pleasure of seeing evangelical sentiments on the increase in 
Geneva. Much truth is now preached by several clergymen, two or 
three of whom belong to the national church. We then went to the 
cathedral, called St. Pierre, and found the place crowded full. As we 
entered the congregation were singing a tune which I have often heard 
at home, accompanied by a noble organ. The officiating minister then 
rose, and offered an extemporaneous prayer in a manner that indicated 
devotional feeling. The sermon was upon the resurrection of Christ, 
and was delivered with deliberation, pathos, and energy. The tones of 
his voice were peculiarly rich and mellow. Twice during the discourse 
he desisted for a minute, and in each instance the whole congregation 
moved their feet, took out their pocket-handkerchiefs, &c. While he 
was speaking the silence and attention were perfect. The services were 
in French. In this church John Calvin preached. 

From Paris, a few days after this date, he writes, " Boston 
is preferable to any place I have yet seen, and towards it I 
am glad to press my way. The Lord still be our guide and 
protector." Early in May he reaches London. It is the 
season of the great anniversaries, and so far as his health will 
permit, he is in constant attendance on the services. We can 
only express our regret that we cannot follow him to these 
great public gatherings, and give to our readers his comments 
and criticisms on what he saw and heard. With the scenery 
around Windsor Castle, which he visited during one of those 
charming May days, he expresses himself as highly delighted. 
Pleasant memories are called up at Eton. From the " Round 
Tower " he speaks of seeing, in the north, the church where 
Gray wrote his inimitable Elegy, also a mansion of one of 
the descendants of William Penn. We let him tell us how 
he passed one of his Sabbaths in London. 



London, May 16. 



" This is the day the Lord hath made; 
He calls the hours his own." 



174 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

May I regard them and observe them as his own. Read a part of 
Psalm cxix., and in prayer found sweet refreshment of soul. God was 
pleased to allow me near access, and to lift upon me the light of his 
countenance. I lingered long at the throne, gazing upon uncreated 
beauty, and found more real enjoyment than all things human can pos- 
sibly afford. My very soul was drawn out in petition for my dear peo- 
ple in Baldwin Place. " God be merciful unto them, and bless them, 
and cause his face to shine upon them," to-day, to-morrow, and forever. 
Went this morning to New Park Street. Heard a precious discourse 
from Rev. Mr. Miall, an independent minister. It wanted point and 
application to the conscience, but was full of good instruction, and 
breathed a charming spirit. My name was announced as the preacher 
for next Lord's day. I very reluctantly consented to this arrangement, 
and should gladly be excused. I have no ambition to preach in a Lon- 
don pulpit. Should I do so, however, I pray the Lord to purify my 
motives, and give me grace to do my duty. Several things in the pub- 
lic worship in London I much admire, and should be glad to see them 
imitated in Boston. 

1. When the people enter the pews, they bow their heads in silent 
prayer for one or two minutes. 

2. They have their pews well supplied with Bibles, as well as hymn- 
books. 

3. When the benediction is pronounced, they stand for half a minute 
in silence. 

4. They are exceedingly moderate in leaving the house, never crowd- 
ing the aisles. 

5. Gentlemen do not put on their hats until they have reached the 
door. 

6. They have pew-openers, who not only open the pews for their pro- 
prietors or regular occupants, but conduct strangers to such seats as 
might not otherwise be occupied. 

The next Sabbath, as announced, he preached at the New 
Park Street Chapel, and writes in his journal, " O that good 
may prove to have been done to precious souls ! " On the 
27th the party left London, and went to Bristol, parting 
with great affection from the many friends they had made 
during the nearly four weeks of their residence at No. 6 
Queen's Street Place. While at Bristol, they rode out to 
Barley Wood, the residence of Hannah More. Mr. Stow has 
left on record an exceedingly interesting account of this visit, 
but we are obliged to omit it. The 1st of June he reached 



RETURN TO BOSTON. 175 

Liverpool. The following is the last entry in the journal 
which he kept of his first European tour : — 

Liverpool, June 1. Attended to business preparatory to embarkation. 
Was introduced to Mr. Samuel Stillman Gair, of the house of Baring 
Brothers, and son of Rev. Mr. Gair, the predecessor of Dr. Baldwin, 
as pastor of the church which I have the honor to serve. He made 
many kind inquiries respecting some of the aged people of whom he had 
heard his mother speak. Mr. G. appears to be quite a gentleman, and 
generously offered to serve me in any way practicable. In every in- 
stance during my tour I have found bankers attentive and obliging, 
whether I did business with them or not. Six months have now passed 
away since I bade adieu to home and country ; during that period I 
have seen much, enjoyed much, and suffered as well. God has been 
God all the way of my wanderings, and I would ever speak well of his 
goodness. 

One of the most discouraging circumstances in the prospects of the 
dissenters in England is, the strong propensity of the better sort to 
sympathize with the Establishment. " The third carriage goes to 
church." No sooner does a man become wealthy, or exhibit unusual 
talent, than he is noticed by Episcopalians ; and poor human nature, 
too weak to withstand such influences, soon yields, and he is lost to the 
dissenting interest. The church has a power of patronage that draws 
off the superior minds ; as one of the ministers said to me, " Sir, we 
are constantly skinned by the Establishment." 

During all the public meetings in London, I did not hear of a single 
prayer meeting ; even the monthly concert of prayer, for the first Mon- 
day in May was omitted. Very few of the great meetings were opened 
with prayer. 

On the 4th he embarked on board the Columbia, and after 
the usual ocean experiences, reached Boston on the 16th. 
At the wharf a large company of his church and congrega- 
tion met him, and gave him and his associates in travel a 
"most fervent and affecting welcome." The following Sab- 
bath, with emotions which we can readily conceive, he stood 
once more in the spot so dear to him — the pulpit of the old 
Baldwin Place Church. 

June 20, Lord's day. Preached this morning to my dear people, from 
Psalm cxix. 65, in which I endeavored to glorify God by recounting 
some acts of his providential kindness. The house was crowded, the 



176 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

audience very attentive. The following hymn was sung as I entered 
the church : — 

" Welcome, welcome, blessed pastor, 
Messenger of Jesus' grace, 
Herald of a free salvation, 
Minister of gospel peace. 
Welcome, welcome, 
Man of God, thy people's joy. 

"For a season, at God's bidding, 

Called in pain to bid adieu, 

By his care again now meeting, 

We our songs of praise renew, 

Joy and gladness 

Pilling, warming every heart. 

" Heavenly Father, bless his message, 
Give us hearts to hear thy word, 
Speaking pardon, dearly purchased 
By the sufferings of our Lord. 
O, reveal it 
In its wondrous saving power. 

" Let thy favor crown thy servant, 

Prosper all his work of love, 

And at last, with us all ransomed, 

May he take his place above. 

Bless, O bless him 

Now, henceforth, and evermore." 

The objects which were contemplated by this tour abroad 
were in good part accomplished. Mr. Stow returned home 
greatly refreshed in spirit, and was prepared with new zeal 
to enter upon his ministerial labors. These labors he at once 
resumed with a joyous, elastic spirit. His heart was with 
his people, and he was ready to devote his recruited energies 
to any work by which their spiritual welfare might be pro- 
moted. He seemed, however, destined not to be left in 
peace. For the third time he received a pressing invitation 
to accept the presidency of Waterville College, which he de- 
clined, saying, in his own emphatic words, " So long as I can 
preach the gospel, and do the work of a pastor, I would ac- 



ANTICIPATIONS OF A REVIVAL. 177 

cept no presidency on earth." His journal everywhere in- 
dicates the intense longings of his heart for the revival of 
religion. If "Brother Neale" calls at his house, the con- 
versation turns on the best means of promoting the religious 
welfare of the churches of which they are pastors. If pleas- 
ant intelligence comes from different places of refreshing 
seasons enjoyed by the churches, the prayer is put up, "Lord, 
send down showers of divine influence upon us, and revive 
our dying graces." Every pastor, whose labors have been 
especially blessed to the conversion of men, understands what 
it is to have strong impressions that the tide of religious feel- 
ing and inquiry is about to rise, and to find afterwards that 
these impressions have been realized. Mr. Stow records such, 
and does it almost in a strain of exultation, as if he were sure 
that the blessed vision which had dawned upon his enrap- 
tured gaze would prove to be more substantial than an airy 
dream. Adhering to his cherished purpose to continue in 
the pastoral office, he declines the offer made to him to be- 
come one of the corresponding secretaries of the Baptist 
Board of Foreign Missions, to which position he had been 
unanimously elected. "The indications of Providence all 
assure me that I ought to remain where I am — the path of 
duty is plain." What these " indications " were, which in 
his mind were so strong, we learn when he tells us, under 
date of December 29, 1841, " The Lord is truly in our midst. 
Christians are melted down before God, and sinners are con- 
verted." With such proofs of answer to prayer, which, for 
so many months, had been ascending to heaven for a blessing, 
Baron Stow was not the man to leave the post of duty, no 
matter how urgent the invitations which called him else- 
where. 

1842. 

The year 1842 will long be remembered as having been a 

year of great spiritual blessing to the evangelical churches of 

Boston. Rev. Mr. Kirk, for so many years the honored and 

beloved pastor of the Mount Vernon Congregational Church, 

12 



178 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

had, for some months, been preaching with singular unction and 
success. TTe have already alluded to the strong impression 
which seems to have been made on the mind of the Baldwin 
Place pastor, that God was about to pour out his Spirit in 
copious measure. His own public and social religious services 
were marked by unwonted solemnity. Christians had been 
getting into a better state, and anxious sinners were inquir- 
ing the way of salvation. In the First Church, Rev. Jacob 
Knap]) was preaching with great plainness and power. Every- 
where the religious atmosphere seemed to be pervaded with 
divine influences. His engagement at the First Church being 
ended, Mr. Knapp preached a number of times at the Bald- 
win Place Church, and the most marked results attended his 
labors. Under date of February 6, Mr. Stow alludes to an 
inquiry meeting, held in his vestry, at which more than one 
hundred presented themselves as converts and inquirers, and 
a few days after he refers to a " prayer meeting of remarka- 
ble power; the Holy Spirit was manifestly present." He 
adds, " The revival is daily becoming more and more interest- 
ing. The Lord is adding daily to the churches such as, we 
trust, are truly converted, and shall be saved." As an evi- 
dence of the way in which his own heart is stirred, and 
how, while under the influence of the Holy Spirit, his soul 
was enlarged and expanded, he tells us of the longings he 
felt for a general revival of religion in the English Baptist 
churches. As the result of his own observation, he gives it 
as his impression that these churches do not pray and labor 
as they should for the conversion of souls. So full is his 
heart of desires for his brethren " over the water," that he 
thinks he would like to go to England and labor there as an 
evangelist, endeavoring to kindle up the revival spirit, and 
encourage them to the use of true revival measures. As the 
weeks pass away the religious interest increases. He esti- 
mates that, on the last Sabbath in February, one hundred 
persons were baptized in the Baptist churches of the city, 
of which number twenty-five received the rite at his hands. 
On the first Sabbath in March, he gave the hand of fellow- 



THE GEE AT EEVIVAL OF 1842. 179 

ship to fifty-eight persons. On these occasions of receiving 
members into the church, he was always peculiarly happy, 
having some appropriate word to say to each candidate. A 
Sabbath or two after this solemn and impressive scene, he 
baptized twenty-one more, six of whom were aged persons ; 
and the following Sabbath thirteen others were led down 
into the waters of baptism, and on the same day he gave 
the hand of fellowship to fifty-nine persons. In such scenes 
as these how did the heart of this loving, laborious pastor 
rejoice with holy delight ! All that strength and new nervous 
energy which he had been accumulating for so many months, 
in his foreign tour, he cheerfully expended in the cause of 
his Master. It was matter of unutterable gladness to him 
that he could " spend and be spent " in the service of the 
Lord whom he so much loved. At length he thinks he 
notices the signs of an ebb in the tide of religious feeling 
which has risen so high. His heart is pained as he sees that 
some in the congregation, for whose conversion he has prayed 
and labored, have not yet become the subjects of the con- 
verting grace of God. " I have warned and entreated them 
with tears day and night. I can do no more than I have 
done. Lord, teach me duty, and give me the right spirit." 

The spring and summer of 1842 passed away. The large 
accession to his church imposed on him a great burden of 
pastoral care. He felt too deep an interest in the spiritual 
welfare of the scores of converts who had been brought into 
his church to leave them as sheep without a shepherd. He 
was personally acquainted with them all, followed them to 
their homes and places of business, and exercised towards 
them all the watch-care of a tender friend. 

Resuming his labors in the fall, after his summer vacation, 
we find his mind especially exercised on the subject of foreign 
missions. Alluding to a sermon an hour and three quarters 
in length, which he had preached, he says, "Never am I 
happier than when pleading the cause of the heathen. For 
several weeks my mind has been more deeply than ever 
interested in the cause of foreign missions, and I have given 



180 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

it much time and thought. In preaching upon the subject 
six times, I have had unusual liberty and comfort, and I trust 
have, by the grace of God, done some good." At a special 
missionary meeting held in Worcester, which was suggested 
by himself, he preached the sermon. His whole heart had 
become so completely absorbed in the subject, that it becomes 
a question of personal duty, whether he ought not, in view 
of the wants of a perishing world, and the great lack of 
laborers, to lay himself on the altar of sacrifice, and devote 
himself to the work of preaching the gospel to those who 
are sitting " in darkness, and in the region and shadow of 
death." "If others wilt not go, I must. O, my Saviour, 
show me what thou will have me to do. I am not my own. 
I am thine. I submit myself to thy disposal. Place me 
where thou wilt, only make me useful to the largest possible 
extent." 

1843-1844. 

Extensive alterations and improvements having been made 
in their place of worship by the Baldwin Place Church, they 
took possession of the same on the 22d of January, 1843, 
when the pastor preached an appropriate sermon on his 
favorite theme, " The Moral Grandeur of the Death of Christ." 
Soon after this, he was prostrated by the disease from which 
he was to suffer so much, and which, so many times, laid him 
aside from his duties — a serious difficulty in his throat. It is 
an experience which tries his faith to the utmost, thus to be 
withdrawn again from his chosen work. He knows how dis- 
appointed his people are, after having made so many sacrifices 
to remodel their church, and confidently expecting the hap- 
piest results from what had been accomplished. How many 
anxious pastors, situated as he was, will sympathize with the 
almost agonizing outburst of his feelings, " Lord, must the 
winter pass away, and there be no reviving, no conversions ? 
I would not complain of thy ways. I would not be unsub- 
missive to thy will; but, Lord, do, in mercy, show me where 
the evil is, that prevents the answer to prayer. Is it in me ? 



ANOTHER CALL TO WATERVILLE COLLEGE. 181 

What can I do to remove it ? Are there sins in the church, 
covered up, unrepented of, justified? O Lord, my heart 
breaketh with desire for the salvation of my people. Only 
two conversions in more than eight months. Let me pray." 

Again there comes another pressing invitation to accept 
the presidency of Waterville College. Special stress is laid 
on the fact of his physical prostration, incapacitating him for 
the performance of his duties as a preacher, and the hope is 
expressed that, relieved from the work of a public speaker, 
he may be able to occupy a sphere of labor, in which he may 
be largely useful. To all the solicitations of the trustees of 
the college he feels that he must return a respectful neg- 
ative, believing that God has still more for him to do in 
his chosen vocation as "an ambassador for Christ." A 
respite of a few weeks restored him to comparative health, 
and on the 27th of July we find him preaching the centen- 
nial anniversary of the founding of the Baldwin Place Church 
— an occasion, he tells us, of the deepest interest, especially to 
the aged members of the church. For several months he per- 
forms his duties with a good degree of regularity; but as the 
spring of 1844 returns, bringing with it, what Willis so sig- 
nificantly called the " salt and' pepper " weather of the lati- 
tude of Boston, his old malady returned. Under date of 
May 19, he alludes to the sad forebodings which he has 
that his work may be done, and fervently prays that he may 
be able, with our Lord, to say, " If it be possible, remove this 
cup from me ; nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done." 
A few days after, he writes that he has prepared a communi- 
cation for the church, expressive of his feelings towards them, 
and stating the necessity of retiring for a season from all 
parochial labor, in order to give his voice absolute rest. 
With tender, grateful emotions he reviews his connection 
with the church. " Such a church I may, I must, love. May 
Heaven's smile ever rest on them." Cessation from ministerial 
labor for a brief period was again followed by favorable re- 
sults. November 6th is the twelfth anniversary of his Bald- 
win Place pastorate. The statistics of these years he thus 



182 MEMOIE OF DR. STOW. 

gives. Two years of the twelve, sickness has laid him aside 
from the active duties of the ministry. He has preached 
one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven sermons, made 
eight thousand five hundred and thirty-two visits, solemnized 
four hundred and eighty-two marriages, attended five hun- 
dred and eighty-six funerals, baptized six hundred and forty- 
three, added by letter two hundred and sixty-one, dismissed 
three hundred and ninety-four, excluded seventy-one; one 
hundred and twenty-seven have died. What a picture of a 
busy, earnest, ministerial life is presented to us by these 
figures ! 






LETTEE TO DE. CONE. 183 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Correspondence between 1836 and 1845. 

We commence a new chapter by giving our readers some 
of the correspondence which is embraced within the years 
1836 and 1845, the letters being written by Mr. Stow, or 
friends with whom he was in communication. 

To Dr. Cone. 

Windsor, Vt., September 1, 1837. 

Allow me to assure you that many brethren in Boston and vicinity 
rejoice heartily at the prospect of seeing you among them, and hearing 
from your lips an exposition of the character and claims of the Ameri- 
can and Foreign Bible Society. 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the anniversary of the 
Newport (N. H.) Baptist Association, which met at Cornish, about seven 
miles from this place. Resolutions were passed approving of the for- 
mation of the American and Foreign Bible Society, and recommending 
that it reserve to itself the right to print and circulate Bibles in any lan- 
guage, and any part of the world. You will receive a copy of the reso- 
lutions. They were passed unanimously. 1 trust that our brethren in 
New York and other places will yet learn that there is no " New Eng- 
land party " opposed to the great enterprise in which you are engaged. 
I presume every association in New Hampshire and Vermont will decide 
in favor of home distribution. 

To the same. 

April 2, 1838. 

. . . God grant that at our anniversaries this year we may have nothing 
but charity for each other and zeal for God. I long to attend one meet- 
ing of our Triennial Convention, where love shall be the predominant 
feeling. Let us pray that our approaching session may be distinguished 
by the spirit of primitive Christianity. 

Have you seen Brother Hinton's (J. H.) letter to Lord Bexley, presi- 



184 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

dent of the British •and Foreign Bible Society? Brother Murch, of 
Stepney College, writes me under date of February 1, and says, " He 
very powerfully demonstrates the injustice and inexpediency of the 
policy of the society in their treatment of the Baptist versions. It has 
enlightened many Pedo-Baptist ministers in the metropolis, who are free 
to acknowledge that the society is in error, though I believe there is 
not the slightest hope that the committee will retrace their steps." 

To Dr. Cone. 

March 9, 1840. 

Would it be possible, some evening during our anniversary week this 
year, to have all the ministering brethren together to tea? Last year, 
during our May meetings in Boston, this was done two evenings in suc- 
cession, with the happiest effect. The meetings were held, as usual, in 
the house of the Federal Street Church. After adjournment in the af- 
ternoon, the brethren were invited into the Sabbath school room in the 
basement, and partook of simple refreshments provided by the brethren 
and sisters in the different churches. After tea, which was taken stand- 
ing, and in a truly social manner, the whole company was seated, and 
some of the aged ministers gave an account of their predecessors, such 
as Smith, Backus, Stillman, Baldwin, &c. ; also of the times in which 
they lived — times that tried men's principles as well as souls. These 
seasons were peculiarly refreshing, and the results were of the happiest 
kind. Brethren became acquainted with each other, and had opportu- 
nity for a free interchange of thought and feeling. The practice is to 
be continued. 

Now, why can we not have something of the kind in New York, at 
least for one evening ? I should be glad to pay for a ticket to such an 
entertainment, and so would every other brother who loves Christian 
social enjoyment. 

I have one other suggestion. After tea let us form a " North Ameri- 
can Baptist Union," to consist of all Baptist ministers in North America 
who are in good standing in the associations to which they belong. Let 
the organization of the Union be simple ; the principal officers, besides 
the president and treasurer, to be four secretaries, one in the Eastern, 
one in the Middle, one in the Southern, and one in the Western States, 
whose duty it shall be to collect, from year to year, as much as possible, 
the current history of the denomination, and through one of their num- 
ber prepare a report. In this way a most interesting document would 
be every year prepared, embracing facts that ought to be brought to- 
gether and preserved. Some day, during our anniversary week, let this 
report be read, and then let the Union take tea together, and endeavor 
to promote good fellowship. 

How do these suggestions strike you? If favorably, will you do any- 



AMONG FRIENDS IN NEW YOBK. 185 

thing to forward the object? You may possibly hear from Brother 
Babcock upon the same subjects. If they appear to you, as they do to 
me, both desirable and feasible, I cannot doubt your readiness to pro- 
mote them. 

You may be gratified to hear that the Lord is again pouring upon the 
dear people in Baldwin Place his Holy Spirit, and subduing to himself 
the hearts of his chosen. 

To Miss Susan R. Jones. 

Denmark, Lewis County, N. Y., July 17, 1840. 

Well, Sister Susan, here you have, what you so tremulously and deli- 
cately solicited, a letter ; but whether it will be found to be such a letter 
as you are desiring and expecting, I am not so certain. I know what 
kind of a communication is befitting both you and myself, but I feel 
unusually disqualified for so common a service. I left dear home on 
Monday afternoon, quite unwell, having exhausted myself by the duties 
of the preceding day, and having slept none the previous (Sunday) 
night, and therefore was ill-fitted for a journey of five hundred and fifty 
miles. After travelling day and night with no rest, no sleep, and with 
a constant headache, I reached this place at a little past eight on Thurs- 
day morning. The excitement occasioned by meeting loved friends, 
howevej* delicious the pleasure, did not diminish the physical suffering, 
and I am still the victim of a most excruciating headache. How, then, 
can I write anything which will afford you either pleasure or profit ? 
I would postpone the execution of my promise, but I know not when 
I shall feel better, or have the requisite leisure. So I give you the prod- 
uct of a suffering brain, not doubting but that you will make all the 
allowance that the largest charity can demand. 

Here I am transferred — not by magic, for really there is no magic 
in travelling in the middle of July with the mercury at ninety de- 
grees, and one's pulse at one hundred and ten per minute — but by 
steam and horse muscle, from the din, and dust, and villanous odors 
of a city into the pleasantest part of this " Black Biver country," 
where Nature is " beauty to the eye and music to the ear." It is a 
charming region, and though I cannot say, with Byron, of another, 
that it is 

" the land of the cedar and vine, 
Where the flowers ever blossom and the beams ever shine," 

yet I can adopt the remainder of his description, — 
" Where all, save the spirit of man, is divine." 

The spot where I am is an elevated ridge in a high state of cultiva- 
tion, and teeming with a profusion of products for the comfort of man 
and beast. At the foot of the eastern slope of this ridge runs Black 



186 MEMOIB OF DR. STOW. 

River — a stream " unknown to song," but not unknown to Yankee 
enterprise and the lovers of a fertile soil. Beyond the river, stretching 
away towards Lake Champlain, lies a dense forest, still the undisturbed 
haunt of the bear, the wolf, and the panther. From the window where 
I am now sitting, I can see at least thirty miles, and the appearance is 
much like that of the ocean — dark, hazy, undulating, and, in the dim 
distance, seeming to meet the blue heavens. The scenery is peculiarly 
enchanting, and, if I felt well, I know I should enjoy it richly. But, 
Susan, this delightful country is inhabited by sinners, who draw largely 
from the soil, the sun, the rain, the dew, for their comfort, and render 
not to God the gratitude and the service that are due. There are good 
people here, but really they seem not to be sensible of God's great 
goodness to them. It is painful to see how unmindful even the children 
are of their Father's bounty. 

You ask, perhaps, how I enjoy absence from my flock and home. I 
answer by asking how you would feel were you on a visit of a few days 
to your mother after a separation of four years. Even you have not a 
better mother than I am blessed with, and did you know her you would 
admit she was second only to your own. 0, how much is comprised in 
that one word, mother ! And yet above all is a word infinitely more ex- 
pressive and soul-ravishing : it is Jesus ! At that word the heart of the 
Christian, be he as you are, or as I am, bounds with exultation and de- 
light. The ties that bind us to our kindred are delicate, and often the - 
medium of exquisite pleasure ; but perhaps they vibrate notes of woe 
about as often as of joy. The relation between Jesus and his loved ones 
is the occasion, of nothing but enjoyment, and that of the richest kind. 
Let us cultivate closer intimacy with him, and then we shall be less de- 
pendent for satisfaction on frail and dying creatures. 

To his mother. 

Boston, September 5, 1840. 

I feel that I have occasion for gratitude to God that he has permitted 
me to visit you once more, and find you in such health, encouraging 
the fond hope that you may be spared for many years to your children, 
to whom your life is, indeed, desirable. May he allow us to meet yet 
again and again, and every time we meet may we find one another ad- 
vanced in a life of holiness, and more fit for the heavenly rest. 

We are now in a state of trial, and desire your prayers that we may 
have grace to endure it as Christians. We are about dismissing a colony 
of brethren and sisters to unite with others in forming a new church, for 
whom a new meeting-house is nearly finished. True, we have a large 
church, consisting of more than seven hundred and fifty members, and 
can spare a large number. Yet we are tenderly attached to our dear 



CORRESPONDENCE. 187 

flock, and find it afflicting to part with them. Many of our best mem- 
bers are going. We part in love. They go for Christ's sake, and we 
surrender them for Christ's sake, and yet the separation causes pain. 
O, how delightful the prospect of meeting in heaven, where parting will 
be unknown. 

To the same. 

Boston, October 31, 1840. 

In consideration of the severity of my labors during the last eight 
years, and the general decline of my health, my dear people have re- 
quested me to take a voyage to Europe, and be absent from six to ten 
or twelve months, as the case may require, for the recruiting of my 
strength, and for my general improvement. They offer to continue my 
salary, and to supply the pulpit at their own expense. Also, that E. 
may accompany me, they offer an additional donation of one thousand 
dollars. This, you will say, is great kindness. We so regard it, and 
feel that never had a minister and wife more occasion for gratitude. 

We have concluded to accept their generous proposition, and this 
morning I have engaged berths on board the steamship Britannia, which 
is to leave this port for Liverpool on Monday, November 16, at one 
o'clock P. M. I am thus particular that you may know the hour, and 
pray for us as we put off upon the heaving billows. With ordinary 
prosperity, we shall be about twelve or thirteen days on the ocean. 
We then purpose to proceed to London and Paris, and thence to Italy, 
and — if hostilities have ceased in the East and the Holy Land — we 
hope, by divine permission, to visit the scenes of our blessed Saviour's 
labors, sufferings, and death. 

You will doubtless inquire whether my health is less firm than usual. 
Permit me to say, that the symptoms of a dangerous affection of the 
heart are such that my physicians (three in number) have directed me 
to quit my post and abstain from all mental labor for several months. 
They are not very confident that I shall ever be able to resume my 
charge in Baldwin Place ; but they recommend this course as the only 
thing likely to restore me. I have proposed to my people to resign, and 
take a smaller charge ; but they will not consent to it so long as any- 
thing can be done that gives the least promise of recovery. 

We regard the undertaking as a serious one, and likely to subject 
us to many discomforts, and perhaps dangers. But we have felt that 
God has marked out our course, and we think he will be our Keep- 
er, Provider, and Friend. 

" We'll go and come, 
Nor fear to die 
Till from on high 
He calls us home." 

The Lord bless you forever. 



188 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

To Miss S. R. Jones. 

Paris, January 8, 1841. 

I avail myself of an hour to converse with you in your, loneliness, 
and endeavor to cheer that saddened spirit which has long heen borne 
down under providential burdens. You have still the sympathy of 
your pastor. Distance has not alienated this heart from any of my 
flock, much less from those who are the children of suffering and sor- 
row. Their griefs are still my griefs, and for their alleviation and 
support my daily supplications still ascend to Him who is " touched 
with a feeling of our infirmities," and who " bindeth up the broken- 
hearted." 

God has been very good to us, and though I have suffered considera- 
bly from my trouble at heart, yet not more than I expected, and we 
have been subjected to as few privations and vexations as most travel- 
lers on the same route. I am remaining here a few days to recruit and 
obtain medical advice before proceeding to Italy. The winter here is 
much more severe than we anticipated. That extraordinary personage, 
"the oldest inhabitant," says this is the coldest winter he remembers to 
have seen in Paris. We have tolerably comfortable quarters here, 
although the houses are far more open than ours, and provided with 
fireplaces, very ill-constructed, for warming the apartments. As wood 
is very expensive, say forty dollars per cord, we cannot build large 
fires ; so we obtain heat the best way we can. We find many Americans 
in Paris, some of them old acquaintances, among whom are Dr. Way- 
land, J. H. Buckingham, S. H. W alley, Martin T. Brimmer, Rev. 
Charles Brooks and lady, Jabez Howe and lady, &c. 

After all, we infinitely prefer home to any place that we have yet 
seen or heard of. Had I not the hope of regaining lost health, I would 
gladly set my face this very day towards Boston. We never realized 
home blessings as we do now, and could I be heard to-day in Baldwin 
Place, I would say, " My dear people, appreciate and improve your 
privileges." 

I trust, my good friend, that you are sustained in your affliction by 
the promises of a Saviour's love and faithfulness. "Having loved his 
own which are in the world, he loved them unto the end." His love 
never cools, never terminates. When he prayed for his disciples, as re- 
corded in John xvii., he said to his Father, " These are in the world." 
He saw that they were exposed to temptations and subject to trials, and 
he sympathized with their condition, and prayed for their succor and 
protection. Thus he intercedes for us in heaven. He knows that we 
are in the world ; and having himself been in the world, he knows what 
it is to be a sufferer. " He knoweth our frame; he rememberelh that 
we are dust." How precious the thought that we are interested in the 



DESCRIPTION OF LIFE IN ROME. 189 

intercession of such an Intercessor ! Let us not doubt his ability or his 
disposition to help in every time of need. Let us think more of him, 
and converse with him more, and confide in him with our whole hearts, 
and be ever ready to say, " This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, 
O ye daughters of Jerusalem." The Lord be with you by day and by 
night, and multiply your comforts and relieve your sufferings. 

To his brother-in-law, W. L. Beal. 

Rome, March 2, 1841. 

Our stay at Naples was shorter than we originally intended, owing 
partly to our delay, first at Paris and then at Avignon, occasioned by 
my illness, and partly by the fact that we did not find ourselves very 
comfortably situated. We liked the climate exceedingly, it was so soft 
and balmy ; but the streets are narrow and dirty, the people unclean 
and perfidious, and living is very expensive. We were deceived and 
cheated more in Naples than we could well endure, and so we finished 
up our sight-seeing as rapidly as possible, and departed without a reluc- 
tant feeling. 

Omitting what has already been so fully described in Mr. 
Stow's journal, we transcribe from this letter a few of his 
experiences in Rome : — 

At Rome we found it very expensive living at a hotel, and so we have 
hired furnished apartments. Our courier, Henry, prepares our break- 
fasts ; our dinners are sent to us from a Trattoria, or restaurant. We 
take but two meals a day. This has been our custom all the way on 
the continent — breakfast at eight, dinner at five, with a lunch between. 
In this way we have time to go out and employ the day to the best ad- 
vantage in sight-seeing. We do not much admire Italian cooking or 
Italian beds, but we endeavor to take things as they are. We like 
Rome better than Naples. It is more quiet and cleanly, and we suffer 
less apprehension of mischief from the vicious habits of the people. 
While I now write in a huge saloon on the fourth floor of a prodigious 
house, No. 12 in the Corso, Elizabeth is near me reading Vasi's ac- 
count of the objects we have visited to-day. Mr. G. is sitting with his 
feet over a few ignited coals, and Mrs. G. is writing a letter to Boston. 
It is the coldest evening we have had since we left Avignon. The sky 
is cloudless, and truly Italian. The moon is wading through the depths 
of ether, and casting down her silver light upon this ancient city, where 
so many millions have run the race of life and found its goal. The 
associations that follow in rapid succession are enough to make a dull 
head poetical. 



190 MEMOIE OF DR. STOW. 

I cannot even name the objects we have seen. We have been here 
ten days, and we have been by no means idle. We arrived in the midst 
of the carnival, which continued eight days. The last two days we 
saw, and it was quite enough for us grave old folks. More fun and 
nonsense .could hardly be crowded into two days. If you see Mr. Hague, 
he will tell you how silly the multitude act. On Ash-Wednesday I 
stood two hours and a half in the Sistine Chapel gazing at the services, 
in which the pope, twenty of his cardinals, and many others participated. 
After the cardinals had kissed the pope's robe, and the others had kissed 
his toe, he sprinkled ashes on their heads. The whole affair was about 
as farcical as the scenes of the carnival, only it was more sober. The 
music by the pope's choir was very good. When you were in London, 
I suppose you regarded St. Paul's as a huge structure ; and so it is. 
But, compared with St. Peter's, it is a baby-house. I had no conception 
of the majesty and grandeur of this incomparable basilic until I saw it. 
I shall hope in vain ever to give you any conception of its magnitude 
and splendor. 

Yesterday we visited, by special permission, the Pope's Palace on the 
Quirinal Hill. It is spacious and richly furnished. His garden is ex- 
tensive and admirably arranged. It has one hundred fountains, no two 
of which are alike. As we walked through the palace and the garden, 
which occupied two and a half hours, we could not forbear inquiring 
whether Peter, the fisherman of Galilee, the pope's boasted predecessor 
in the pontifical chair, ever had such a palace and such a garden, such 
a cafe, such a billiard-room, such galleries of sculpture and painting, 
such frescoes, arabesques, and mosaics, such thrones, and divans, and 
couches, such saloons, halls of audience, staircases, &c. Is the pope 
really a minister of Jesus, the successor of the apostles, who would pay 
tribute-money only by taking it from the mouth of a fish ? Was Peter 
surrounded wherever he went, with a guard of soldiers? 

To his mother. 

Boston, July 19, 1841. 

When we returned to our native shores, I did not suppose that I could 
allow more than four weeks to pass away without giving you the pleas- 
ure of hearing from me the particulars which a mother would wish to 
know respecting her children. But perhaps you can conceive that, 
having been absent from a large congregation for so long a period, I 
should find myself at once overwhelmed with care and duty, so as to 
find little time for the gratification of private feelings. 

We were warmly welcomed by our dear flock, and have received 
from them many additional tokens of affection. Within an hour after 
our arrival, a committee of the young men waited upon me with a most 



ELECTED SECRETARY OF FOREIGN MISSION BOARD. 191 

affectionate letter, enclosing a bank-note of five hundred dollars. A 
kinder people no pastor ever had. O that I may be able to serve them 
long and faithfully in the gospel of God's dear Son ! 

I wrote you from some place in Italy, — I believe from Rome, — and, 
as the letter reached Boston, I suppose you received it. From that 
place we had a long overland journey, of more than a thousand miles, 
to Paris, which, although it was considerably fatiguing, we enjoyed ex- 
ceedingly. We crossed the Alps the 16th of April, and, as the snow 
was deep and the wind furious, we were several times in great danger. 
But God conveyed us safely over, through scenery as wild and terrific 
as can be imagined. At Geneva we rested a few days, and there wor- 
shipped on the Sabbath in the church where John Calvin used to 
preach. 

In London we attended the anniversaries of the great religious socie- 
ties. Our stay in England exceeded a month. Right glad were we to 
embark for home ; and in twelve days and eight hours we tratersed 
three thousand miles of ocean, and found ourselves once more at home. 
We have thus gone out and returned in safety. We have travelled 
more than ten thousand miles, and no accident has befallen us. We 
have had fewer comforts and more vexations than at home ; but, on the 
whole, we have enjoyed the tour, and God has rendered it highly bene- 
ficial. I am now in better health than usual, and if I can avoid exces- 
sive labor, I hope not to sink so low again. 

We have seen how frequently Mr. Stow was urged to leave 
the post which, for so many years, he had filled, to occupy 
other positions in the denomination, and how uniformly he 
declined all these calls. The urgency of some of these invi- 
tations will be seen from the following communication, in- 
forming him of his election as one of the corresponding sec- 
retaries of the Foreign Mission Board of the Baptist Gen- 
eral Convention: — 

Baptist Missionary Rooms, Boston, December 6, 1841. 

Rev. Baron Stow. Dear Brother : The Acting Board of Foreign 
Missions believing, on mature deliberation, that the interests confided 
to them demand the services of an additional corresponding secretary, 
who shall be specially charged with the duties of the financial depart- 
ment, they have this day elected you to the office by a unanimous vote, 
and have instructed the undersigned to communicate the same to you, 
and to the church and society under your pastoral charge. 

The committee, in fulfilling this duty, refrain for the present from 



192 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

stating the weighty considerations which have led the Board to tender 
to you an appointment the acceptance of which involves a dissolution 
of your particular connections with a people deservedly endeared to 
you, and a discontinuance, in great measure, of ministerial labors, for 
which, we are aware, you have cherished a peculiar predilection. We 
will merely say, that the Board have endeavored to give due weight to 
the objections against the course they have adopted, and we have only 
to request that, with like simplicity of motive, you will give to the sub- 
ject, as we believe you will, all the consideration which its great impor- 
tance claims ; earnestly looking to the Great Head of the church to 
guide you in the way that he shall choose, and heartily submitting your- 
self to his disposal, to do and suffer for his sake, and for the salvation 
of those for whom he died, whatever he shall appoint to you. 
In behalf of the Board, 

Your brethren in Christ. 

Solomon Peck, 
Heman Lincoln. 

To his mother. 

Boston, March 2, 1842. 

The revival had commenced at the Eirst Church and at Baldwin 
Place before Elder Knapp began his labors, which was the 23d of 
December. It has now become quite extensive in the city and vicin- 
ity, and is proceeding with astonishing power. I cannot tell you the 
number of converts, even in my own congregation, much less in the 
city. I have baptized seventy-six, and many more will follow in the 
same path of obedience. New converts are daily appearing, and my 
hands are full of labor. Brother Knapp has labored in most of the 
churches, and his services are in constant demand. Last Sabbath one 
hundred and nineteen were baptized in the several churches in the city. 
The converts may now be numbered by hundreds, and probably exceed 
two thousand. The opposition has been great, but many of the violent 
opposers have been converted, and are now laboring to promote the 
conversion of others. The ministers are nearly worn down, yet the 
Lord sustains them, and permits them to rejoice in the midst of severe 
labors and ponderous responsibilities. Brother Ely was with me nearly 
four weeks, and rendered me important service. My health has suf- 
fered considerably, and, without futher assistance, will suffer still more. 
I know I have the prayers of my dear mother, that I may be guided, 
sustained, and blessed. 

The following is a specimen of scores of similar letters, 
which the faithful pastor wrote during his ministry : — 



A LOVING PASTOR'S PLEA. 193 

To Mr. Edward Chamberlin. 

February 20, 1843. 

Your father was so kind as to call this morning and show me the let- 
ter of your sister, Mrs. D., giving a most interesting account of the 
great and gracious change which has recently taken place in her views 
and feelings. Such intelligence is, to me, peculiarly refreshing. In 
this instance I have felt that there is special occasion for gratitude, and 
my heart has poured out its holiest thanksgivings at the mercy-seat. 
May I not ask you to join me in praises to that rich, free, sovereign 
grace which has so signally blest your family circle ? 

The letter contained an expression of tender solicitude for " brother 
Edward." O, how natural ! Having seen her own guilt and peril, and 
found in Christ the Saviour she needed, your sister looks back across 
that "gulf" which she has safely passed, and longs for the rescue of 
the brother whom she loves, and whose feet she sees standing on " slip- 
pery places." Think it not strange that your pastor joins his entreaties 
with hers, and prays you in " Christ's stead to be reconciled to God." 
I have felt to-day that I could not let the opportunity pass without au 
effort, a special effort, for your soul's salvation. Shall it be in vain? 
Do you not feel that now, emphatically " now, is the accepted time and 
the day of salvation ? " 

My dear friend, you have tried the world, and it has deceived you. 
Why will you longer pursue its painted bubbles, and neglect the solid 
pleasures of the religion of Jesus ? Death has often come into your 
circle, and admonished you that life is very uncertain, and that you 
ought to be continually prepared for your appearance at the tribunal of 
your Judge. How is it that you have been able to resist such appeals, 
and neglect so long this great salvation ? You have, more than once, 
had seasons of tenderness, when the truth seemed to make some im- 
pression, and when your friends cherished fond hopes that you would 
yield your heart to the Saviour, and make sure of eternal life. By 
what process did you succeed in grieving away the Comforter, and dis- 
lodging serious thoughts, and disappointing the hopes of the pious? 
Are you aware of what you have done, how much you have displeased 
God and injured yourself ? Now God, in mercy, has come near, very 
near to you, and uttered in your ear another compassionate call — " My 
son, give me thine heart." Shall it be ineffectual? May it not be the 
last? Will you turn a deaf ear to Heaven's gracious appeal, and thus 
treasure up additional " wrath against the day of wrath?" O, no ! I 
feel a strong assurance that you will not, that you will now discontinue 
rebellion, and submit to Christ, the precious Saviour. The Lord ena- 
ble you to decide for yourself, "I will, I will at once seek my soul's 
salvation." 

13 



194 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

To Rev. Elijah Hutchinson. 

Boston, March 8, 1813. 

A few days since Brother J. A. B. Stone called and left your letter of 
the 10th ult., from which, as well as from other sources, I learned with 
regret that you were laid aside again from the work you so dearly love, 
and in which God has made you so useful. For nearly four weeks, the 
inflammation in my throat has been of such a character as to render all 
conversation, except in a low whisper, impossible ; and even that is ex- 
ceedingly painful. I see no company except my physician and those 
who insist upon looking at me. The affliction is a severe one both to 
myself and to my people, especially at the present time, when we have 
so recently returned to our place of worship, and when the labors of the 
pastor are so much needed, apparently, to " set in order the things that 
are wanting." But I have found sweet consolation in the assurance that 
Christ is infinitely wise and good, and that he is doing all things well. 

Yesterday Bev. called and insisted upon seeing me, as, he 

said, God had sent him to me ! Of course I would not refuse to see 
such a man. I sat in silence for more than one hour, and heard his ac- 
count of the wonderful exercises and impressions of which he has recent- 
ly been the favored subject. I cannot doubt that he has undergone 
some spiritual changes which are for the better, and which, were they 
unmixed with extravagant enthusiasm, would render him a holier 
Christian and a more useful minister. According to his own statement, 
he has said and done much that I should call foolish and inconsistent 
with Christian sobriety. He professes to have peculiar intimacy with 
God, who gives him special revelations ! He has embraced the whole 
system of Mahan's Perfectionism, and Wesley's too, for God has told 
him that the doctrine is true. Last week God revealed to him the cer- 
tainty of the speedy coming of Christ, and last Sabbath he disclosed the 
whole revelation to his people ! He has renounced all his books, and 
says he intends never to open one of them again ! His direct converse 
with God supersedes the study of the Bible, and his preaching hence- 
forth is to consist of the Spirit's immediate communications. " My wife 
and child," said he, with a snap of his fingers, " are now to me no more 
than that." He proposes now to become an itinerant lecturer, pro- 
claiming the " midnight cry." Let us pray God that he will restore 
him to his right mind. 

From Dr. B. T. Welch. 

Albany, November 6, 1843. 

Your truly acceptable present came to hand yesterday. Many thanks 
for your kindness in this matter — you have certainly done me a great 
favor. The head of Dr. Baldwin is a treasure. I was under his ministry 



LETTER FROM DR. WELCH. 195 

from infancy until I was seventeen, and so strong upon my mind was 
the impression of his benevolent features, that to this day his image is 
upon my memory as distinct as if I had yesterday listened to his faith- 
ful voice. The memory of that man is dear to me, and his portrait is 
regarded by me as a most valuable possession. 

You are aware, or, in Yankee phrase, " ought to be," that I have ever 
entertained a high estimate of your head, and I assure you that it is not 
at all diminished by the opportunity of carefully examining its phrenolo- 
gical developments, faithfully portrayed. This is truly an admirable 
picture, the resemblance accurate, and beautifully executed. I regard 
it as one of the best, if not the very best work of the kind that I have 
seen. This must be gratifying to all your friends, and a little so to you, 
for when one's head goes upon paper, to have it murdered outright "by 
a botch at the burin " is one of the most provoking things imaginable. 
But the artist has done you justice, for which he has my sincere thanks 
in common with the gratitude of many who will know how to prize it. 
Permit me to say, that the favor is greatly enhanced by the accompany- 
ing " Centennial Discourse," your kindness not only presenting the 
head, but an interesting indication of its furniture, the " vraisemblance," 
outside and in, simultaneously. In giving this little volume to "the 
public, you have certainly done good service, not only to the church in 
Baldwin Place, but to the entire denomination. The appendix, not less 
than the discourse as a record of interesting and important facts, is truly 
valuable. I sincerely wish for it — what it richly merits — an extensive 
circulation, and especially in our churches, and pray that the favor of 
the Great Head of the church may rest upon it and its author. How 
grateful should you be, my brother, for the ability to " wield the pen " 
with success ! When dead you can yet speak, honor your Master, 
vindicate and advance his cause. But as for me, it is little good I can 
do while living; and "when this lisping, stammering tongue lies silent 
in the grave," there is an end of me and of all my influence and useful- 
ness. Most bitterly do I lament the want of early discipline, and the 
mental poverty of which I am the subject, the utter and miserable blank 
in the first thirty years of my life. Eegrets are now useless ; time can- 
not be recalled; and moreover I am getting prosy and taxing your 
patience. 

To Mrs. C. R. Emery. 

Boston, June 15, 1844. 

I had heard of your affliction, and determined to address you a line 
expressive of my heart's deep sympathy. I need not tell you where to 
go for consolation, for you have long known the fountain of true com- 
fort, and the path to it has been often trod by your feet. But I may say, 



196 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

that in your former pastor you have a friend and brother, who would 
gladly alleviate your sorrows by any means in his power. I rejoice to 
find that you entertain right views of the dispensation under which you 
suffer, and that you bow submissively under the chastening rod of your 
gracious and faithful Father. Let it be your concern, my dear sister, 
as it shall be my prayer, that this trial may contribute largely to your 
increased sanctification. Open your whole soul to its influence, and 
allow it to work out your more complete emancipation from sin, and 
your preparation for the glories of heaven. 



CALLED TO THE PRESIDENCY OF GRANVILLE COLLEGE. 197 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Call to the Presidency of Granville College, Ohio. — Dis- 
couragements at Baldwin Place. — Call to the Ninth Street 
Church, Cincinnati. — Advice or Dr. Sharp. — Letter of 
Eev. John Stevens. — Embarrassments of the Foreign Mission 
Board. — Correspondence. 

1845-1846. 

Early in the year 1845 Mr. Stow was again called upon 
to decide the question so often presented to him, whether he 
would continue his relation with the Baldwin Place Church, 
or enter upon another sphere of duty. According to the ordi- 
nary methods of deciding as to what are the plain indications 
of Providence, we see not how he could well resist the con- 
viction that he was specially called to be the president of 
some seat of learning. We have seen that in the east, Water- 
ville had again and again stretched out her hand and endeav- 
ored to draw him away from his beloved flock and home in 
Boston. Now, the west beckons him away from New Eng- 
land, and urges him to accept the presidency of Granville 
College, Ohio. While he felt honored by the nomination, and 
treated it respectfully, he decided, as in other similar cases, 
to decline it. He believed then, and cherished the belief 
to the day of his death, that for him, with his peculiar 
tastes and long-cherished associations, no situation any- 
where would present such attractions as the pastorate of a 
church in Boston. To the last he continued to be warmly 
attached to the home of his adoption, and resisted every invi- 
tation which called him away from it. And so far as his per- 
sonal residence was concerned, it continued to be his home 



198 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

till God took him to " the house not made with hands, eter- 
nal, and in the heavens." 

■ After what the readers of this Memoir have learned from 
its pages, it is needless to say that his most hearty sympa- 
thies were enlisted in the cause of foreign missions. The an- 
nual meeting of the Board in 1845 found the treasury sadly 
crippled on account of a heavy debt, which, in the prosecution 
of their legitimate work, the Convention had contracted. Dr. 
Sears and himself were a'ppointed as special agents to en- 
deavor to raise funds for the liquidation of this debt. To- 
gether they went to Hartford for this purpose, and he alludes, 
in grateful language, to the success which attended their joint 
effort. " In every application thus far we have been success- 
ful. Providence has favored us in a peculiar manner." 

Amid all these varied labors, the conviction was constantly 
gaining hold of his mind that his work at Baldwin Place was 
drawing to a close. He was beginning to feel the influence 
of the tide of emigration which was drawing away the native, 
Protestant population from the north-east section of the city. 
As is well known, the final result was the change of the 
location of the place of worship, many years after he ceased 
to be the pastor, to its present site on Warren Avenue. 
Already very heavy drafts had been made upon the member- 
ship of the church by the formation of other churches. Some 
of the pastor's warmest and most reliable supporters had re- 
moved their church relations. There were, moreover, some 
trials through which he was called to pass, not unusual in- 
deed, in the experience of almost every faithful minister, 
which weighed heavily on his sensitive spirit. Enough has 
been said in the preceding pages to show that his peculiarly 
delicate and refined nature led him to shrink from everything 
which came not up to his lofty ideal of the Christian charac- 
ter. Although he supposed he had made a final disposition 
of the call to Granville College, we find him still brooding 
over the matter, questioning whether, after all, it may not be 
the path which Providence is opening before him to lead him 
out of the difficulties which are depressing him so much. 



CALL TO THE NINTH STREET CHUECH, CIXCIXXATI. 199 

On the 15th of October, Dr. Judson arrived in Boston with 
his three children, and for three weeks they were the guests 
of Mr. Stow ; and he dwells upon the pleasure which he feels 
in contributing to the comfort of one who had been so hon- 
ored of God in the work of giving the gospel to the heathen. 

Again another call. Under date of November 9, he alludes 
to the reception of three letters from Cincinnati, one from a 
committee of the Ninth Street Baptist Church, inviting him 
to the pastoral office, and two from Baptist ministers, urging 
him to accept the call. It was an urgent plea which these 
brethren presented, and the invitation was extended with true 
western heartiness. The church occupied an important posi- 
tion, and it naturally felt that it had a right " to covet ear- 
nestly the best gifts." We give some extracts from a letter 
which was written by Dr. Sharp in reply to one addressed to 
him by Mr. Stow, who had sought counsel from one to whom he 
was tenderly attached, and in whose judgment he was accus- 
tomed to place so much confidence. 

Boston, November 6, 1845. 

My dear Brother : I trust you will never hesitate for a moment to 
write to me, or to call on me personally on any subject which may affect 
your duty, your usefulness, or your happiness. I hope that I have yet 
left to me a heart to sympathize and a readiness to give the result of 
my own observation, experience, and reflection, when there is a proba- 
bility that either will be acceptable, or do good. 

I confess that you have set me a difficult task. Had you proposed 
one inquiry, instead of three, I should have experienced less hesitation 
in answering you. To have three places presented to your considera- 
tion for acceptance, and all so important, may well perplex you. It 
perplexes me to give you just such advice as it may be wise and best 
for you to take. 

In regard to your own people, you have no just cause for despon- 
dency. So far as my own personal feelings are concerned, I could wish 
that you might live and die their pastor, as I intend to live and die the 
pastor of the church in Charles Street. Where can your people find a 
man who will fill your place? Still I do not see that it is your impera- 
tive duty to remain. 

In regard to the west, I have not the least doubt that, in either of 
the stations which are offered you, were you to go, as Fishback once 



200 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

said of himself, you would " do a heap of good." But the change from 
eastern to western society would be exceedingly great. I fear that at 
Granville you would be loaded with cares and perplexing responsibili- 
ties unfavorable to the heart disease, to. which you are liable. I should 
rather see you connected with an institution, if connected at all with 
one of tbat sort, where you would not have to be steward, and agent, 
and general purveyor, as, I suppose, Dr. Going was. Perhaps it is now 
placed above such necessities. As pastor of the church in Cincinnati, 
you would occupy a very important and conspicuous station. You would, 
in many respects, if not in all, without seeking it, be at the head of the 
Baptist ministry at the west. Still, I fear that your delicacy, and sus- 
ceptibility, and modesty would be in the way of your happiness. There 
is more of the rough-and-tumble and jostling against one another in 
western manners, if I have judged rightly, than would suit your com- 
fort. They say very hard things to one another in public, which 
would not suit your taste. If you were knocked down, you would not 
get up and knock your brother down, and then go home and laugh at it. 
All this would give you the nervous headache — nay, you would have 
the heartache. For one, I confess I think you would be happier, and 
probably as useful, in your present position as in either of the two at the 
west. And yet, if you went to either place, I have no doubt (if God 
spared your life and granted you health) but that you would do much, 
great good. The turning-points for you to decide in regard to the 
west are, in my judgment, personal considerations, rather than gen- 
eral usefulness. Of the latter I have no question. 
I am, truly yours, 

Daniel Shaep. 

To complete the narrative of the facts connected with the 
call to Cincinnati, we anticipate a little the course of events. 
Influenced by the considerations presented by Dr. Shard, and 
by others which seemed to be of weight in his own mind, he 
decided to decline the call. He remarks, however, a few 
days after he sent his letter of declination, " I have received 
a letter from a brother in Cincinnati, saying my negative 
reply is not to be received as final, and that further effort will 
be made to effect my removal. So I am again to be disturbed 
with a question I regarded us settled. What shall I do? O 
Lord, give me wisdom, give me humility. Point out plainly 
my path of duty, and enable me to ascertain and do thy .will." 

As an evidence of the pertinacity and the earnestness with 



LETTER FE0M EEY. JOHN STEVENS. 201 

which the church at Cincinnati urged their suit, it may not be 
out of place to give some extracts from a letter written by 
Rev. John Stevens, who, with two others, was appointed to 
confer with him on the subject. 

Cincinnati, O., February 18, 1846. 

Rev. Baron Stow. Dear Brother : The Ninth Street Baptist Church 
in this city still have their hopes fixed on you ae their future pastor. 
We know not where else to look. The church have, by a unauimous, 
hearty vote, at the close of a day of solemn prayer in reference to this 
subject, repeated their invitation. We hope you will find cause to re- 
consider your former decision. We sincerely hope for and earnestly 
desire your acceptance. On what do we rest this hope and desire? 
On our belief that you combine the various qualifications necessary for 
this post in a higher and happier degree than any other individual with- 
in our knowledge, and on our view of the vast importance to the cause 
of Christ at large of this station being adequately filled. 

As it regards the first point, we need only refer to the invitation we 
have given and repeated, and to the measures we take to lay our case 
fully and fairly before you. 

As to the second, — the importance of the situation, — it needs, in 
order to be justly appreciated, to be viewed in detail, both as to its 
intrinsic character and in its relations to the general interests of the 
Redeemer's cause. 

First, as to the church itself. 

The writer here refers to the house of worship, its favora- 
ble location, the rentage of the pews, the number of members 
belonging to the church, its high rank among the best Prot- 
estant churches in the city, and says, — 

Viewing the church by itself, in its present and prospective character, 
we think we cannot be mistaken in the opinion that it affords a more 
eligible sphere of usefulness for a pastor than any other Baptist church 
on this side of the mountains. For its own sake, then, — that is, for the 
sake of those who compose the body, church, and congregation, — it is 
eminently eligible as a sphere of pastoral labor. We know not the 
Baptist pulpit where the persons coming under the direct influence of 
its ministrations will be more numerous or influential. Come, then, and 
live with us. We pledge you an ample support. Come, preside over 
us, and lead us on in the Master's service. We trust there will not be 
wanting those who will follow you, as you follow the Great Leader. 
The foundation has been laid. There is ample room. Material 



202 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

abounds. Come, enlarge and adorn this palace for God, and make it a 
model throughout this valley. 

A modest man, like the subject of this Memoir, might well 
suppose, from the glowing description thus given, that the 
pastor of a church of four hundred members, in a populous 
community, with every prospect of reaping a large harvest 
from the seeds which he might scatter broadcast, would have 
his head, his heart, and his hands full to overflowing, if he 
conscientiously devoted himself with a single eye to the spe- 
cial and exclusive work of a pastor. But what were sup- 
posed to be other most desirable features in the position to 
which he was so urgently called, were not overlooked, and 
Brother Stevens proceeds to sp^ak, — 

Secondly, of the relations of the church to the cause at large. While 
acknowledging that, looking at the church of which he is now pastor, 
and the one to which he is invited, the scale might turn in favor of 
remaining where he is, yet, viewing the relative positions of the two 
churches, there can be no doubt, the writer thinks, what the decision 
should be. 

Returning to the order of our narrative, we remark, that at 
this period now under consideration, the Baptist General 
Convention was passing through great trials. While a 
good measure of prosjDerity was attending its missionary 
operations abroad, and the blessing of Heaven was evidently 
resting upon the work which it had undertaken to accomplish, 
its treasury was greatly embarrassed for want of funds. 
Two principal causes led to this embarrassment. One was 
the unprecedented financial troubles which had spread over 
all parts of the country, thus curtailing very largely the 
income of those who had been accustomed to contribute to 
the cause of missions. The other was the difficulties which 
grew out of the discussion of questions connected with the 
system of domestic slavery. Without wishing to revive the 
unhappy feelings and the bitter dissensions which, we trust, 
have been buried beneath the sea of blood which was poured 
out in our late civil strife, fidelity to the truth, and a mst 



EMBARRASSMENTS OF THE FOREIGN MISSION BOARD. 203 

presentation of the character of the subject of this Memoir, 
demand the recital of some of the facts which make the 
period now passing under review one of the most memorable 
in the history of our foreign missions. Not a few sincere 
lovers of the cause felt that they could no longer give to it 
their charities, if its support must be maintained by the prod- 
ucts of slave labor. Accordingly they withdrew their con- 
tributions from the treasury of the General Convention. 
The causes referred to, and others, which we need not stop 
to enumerate, had served to increase the indebtedness of the 
Convention to the amount of forty thousand dollars. Hith- 
erto its financial credit has been of the highest character. 

In the transaction of its business with foreign bankers it 
had met every obligation at maturity, and such perfect confi- 
dence was placed in its integrity, and the moral certainty that 
every liability would be met, that it had no serious difficulty 
in raising any reasonable amount which it needed to meet its 
emergencies. But to maintain this financial credit required 
guarantees, which, while they were cheerfully given by certain 
warm friends of the cause, ought no longer to be expected. 
When the debt had reached what, in those days, was regarded 
as the very large sum of forty thousand dollars, men of cau- 
tion and prudence began to be anxious, and to inquire, What 
will be the end of all this plunging deeper and deeper into 
financial embarrassment ? It would not do, in a blind and 
unreasoning way, to say that there must be faith in the God 
of missions. Under the present circumstances, most emphati- 
cally " faith without works was dead." In the midst of all 
these embarrassments, and as if to complicate the difficulties 
tenfold, there came to the Board the famous Alabama Resolu- 
tions, sent by the Baptist Convention of that state. These 
resolutions called for an explicit answer to the question 
whether the Board would or would not appoint as missionaries 
those who were actual holders of slaves. Brought face to 
face with the system of domestic slavery, and called upon 
thus peremptorily to say what they would do in the supposed 
emergency, the Board did not long hesitate what answer tc 



204 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

give to the inquiry thus put to them. Their reply was, that 
" if any one should offer himself as a missionary, having slaves, 
and should insist on retaining them as his property, they could 
not appoint him." It was understood that this reply was 
given, not because it was suggested by prudential reasons, 
but because slavery was regarded as a wrong which ought not 
to be sanctioned. The Board would not consent to make it- 
self in any way particeps criminis in this matter of human 
bondage. It might alienate the affections and lose the pecu- 
niary support of some of the earliest and warmest supporters 
of the cause of foreign missions, but it must be true to its 
honest convictions of duty. Such was the stand taken, not 
merely by men who were known by way of distinction as 
" abolitionists," like Dr. Colver, but by men who had been as- 
sailed as too conservative, like Dr. Sharp. Of course the con- 
sequences of the step taken were not overlooked, and many 
were the anxieties as to the methods which were to be re- 
sorted to that the Convention might extricate itself from its 
financial troubles. 

Mr. Stow was deeply interested in all these movements. 
How much he felt about the debt we have already noticed, 
and what personal effort he put forth, in connection with Dr. 
Sears, to have it removed, he has himself told us. An extra 
session of the General Convention was called, " to be held in 
the Baptist Tabernacle in the City of New York, on the 
third Wednesday of November, at ten o'clock A. M." Mr. 
Stow thus writes about this meeting : " November 17. This 
evening I leave for New York, to attend an extra session of 
the Baptist General Convention. My fears as to the result 
are many. Lord, interpose, and make the north united in 
the work of foreign missions." Leaving his home that even- 
ing, he reached New York the next morning. He will tell 
us something, a few pages farther on, about the meeting at 
the Tabernacle. 

Additional interest was given to this meeting from the 
circumstance that Dr. Judson was present, and received the 
warm congratulations of those who loved him for his work's 



DE. JUDS0N IN NEW YORK. 205 

sake, and as one " bearing in his body the marks of the Lord 
Jesus Christ." Introduced to the Convention by Dr. Cone, 
in his own matchless, inimitable manner, at the time when he 
was in the zenith of his power as an eloquent speaker, he was 
welcomed by the president, Dr. Wayland, " in an address," 
says Professor Gammell, " of great eloquence and beauty, to 
which, with a feeble voice, he made a brief but touching re- 
sponse. The scene was one of subduing interest, and will 
never be forgotten by those who beheld it. Hundreds were 
gazing, for the first time, upon one, the story of whose labors, 
and sorrows, and sufferings had been familiar to them from 
childhood, and whose name they had been accustomed to 
utter with reverence and affection, as that of the pioneer and 
father of American missions to the heathen. They recalled 
the scenes of toil and privation through which he had passed ; 
they remembered the loved ones with whom he had been 
connected, and their bosoms swelled with inexpressible emo- 
tions of gratitude and delight." 

The Convention, however, had come together not merely 
to enjoy this meeting with its earliest and most revered mis- 
sionary, and to indulge in the elevated emotions which were 
so befitting the occasion. There was serious business to be 
transacted. The secession of the southern Baptists, and the 
acknowledged defects which the results of a thirty years' ex- 
perience in the workings of our missionary organization had 
revealed, made it necessaiy that there should be • an entire 
reconstruction of the society. Mr. Stow has left on record, 
in his own modest way, the part which he performed in this 
most important work. He tells us that — 

In 1845, after the disruption of the General Convention by the seces- 
sion of the southern wing, a committee of nine, of which Dr. Wayland 
was one, was appointed to prepare a new constitution for the body, to 
be submitted at a special session. As the members of the committee 
were widely scattered, and could not conveniently meet, it was agreed 
that Dr. Cone should draw up one, and Dr. Wayland another, and that 
a Boston member should, as secretary, construct one out of the two for 
final consideration. The two forms prepared by Drs. Cone and Way- 



206 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

land, and their letters to the secretary, are now in my possession, and 
contain materials for a chapter, showing an equal fervor of interest in 
the missionary enterprise, but a wide diversity of opinions as to the 
shape of the organization for carrying it forward, the views of Dr. Cone 
being eminently democratic, those of Dr. Wayland insisting on greater 
power in the executive agency. As the instrument was finally adopted, 
— and we understand that the secretary's careful hand of revision had 
passed over it, — it embraced all that Dr. Wayland regarded as essential 
in preserving the organization from harm by any sudden irruptions of 
popular excitement. In the compromise effected between Drs. Cone 
and Wayland on that occasion, there was a beautiful exhibition of their 
strong points of Christian character. 

The above we find in. the second volume of the Memoirs 
of Dr. Wayland. The following is the record in Mr. Stow's 
journal : — 

November 18. Arrived here (New York) this morning, and went 
with Dr. Sears to Mr. G. N. Bleeker's, 58 Henry Street, where we have 
a delightful home. At ten, met the committee on the constitution at 
the Bible Rooms, 350 Broome Street. After a laborious session of 
nearly nine hours, we agreed, unanimously, on a draft to be submitted 
to the Convention. This is the first ray of light that has pierced our 
dense darkness. May it be the presage of a full day. 

November 22. The meeting of the Convention has been one of the 
most remarkable. The constitution was adopted unanimously, and 
nearly sixteen thousand dollars, in sums of one hundred dollars each, 
were" raised. Thus the debt of forty thousand dollars is provided for, 
and arrangements are made for the enlargement of our operations. 
" What hath God wrought ! " All are amazed at the result. Such a 
meeting I never anticipated this side of heaven. O that we may be 
humble before God, and henceforth trust him with our whole hearts ! 
He has done great things for us. May we never cease to be grateful. 

Dr. Wayland, writing to Mr. Stow under date of Novem- 
ber 23, says, " We are all filled with wonder at the deliver- 
ances of the past week. May we all love and serve him bet- 
ter in future." 

The following correspondence may properly be introduced 
at this point. The letters were all written to Dr. Cone. 



CONSTITUTION OP THE MISSIONARY UNION. 207 

Boston, October 1, 1845. 

Much esteemed Brother : Yours of the 29th ultimo came to hand 
yesterday. The draft of a constitution was at once laid before Brothers 
Lincoln and Fletcher. The former is in such a state of mental suffer- 
ing, occasioned by the condition of the treasury and *he apprehension of 
his own pecuniary ruin, that he is hardly qualified to render us much 
service. Mr. Fletcher remarked, " Well, this looks something like a 
constitution," and then gave utterance to his earnest wonder that wise 
men should so long have consented to do business under the old system. 
Some few alterations and additions were agreed upon, and to-morrow, 
if the Lord permits, I shall go to Providence, and lay the whole before 
Dr. Wayland. 

The only points of importance, with respect to which we suggest 
changes or additions, are two. 

1. The name. We should prefer the American Baptist Association for 
Foreign Missions. Lewis Tappan & Co. have a Foreign Mission Union. 
Besides, " Association " is a name familiar and dear to Baptists. 

2. The introduction of an article creating honorary life members of 
the board of managers, with power to attend the meetings of the board, 
to discuss all questions, but to vote on none. 

I mention these points in anticipation, that you may reflect upon 
them. 

Allow me to say that I am highly gratified with your plan as a whole, 
and believe it will unite those who have any heart to unite together in 
the blessed enterprise. There may be spirits who will endeavor to in- 
troduce restrictive elements ; but you may be assured that our leading 
New England brethren desire nothing of the kind, and will stand with 
you in resisting everything that is not broadly catholic. We wish for 
an organization on a purely missionary basis, and nothing else. 

My dear brother, cannot the subscription in your city, for the extin- 
guishing of the forty-thousand-dollar debt, be hastened to a favorable 
consummation? On the 1st of September we provided temporarily 
for fifteen thousand dollars of the amount. In about six weeks another 
large portion must be provided for. Were the whole amount subscribed, 
we could at once collect all that we shall then need. The treasurer is 
nearly crushed under his burdens, and unless something is speedily 
done for his relief, he will sink, I fear, beyond recovery. Pardon me 
for these suggestions. 

In great haste, I am, as ever, 

Yours, with affectionate esteem, 

Baron Stow. 

Rev. S. H. Cone. 



208 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Boston, October 14, 1845. 

Reverend and dear Sir : Accompanying this I send you our draft 
of a constitution. I regret that it has so long been delayed. We have 
separately and jointly spent much time upon it. I have transcribed it 
seven times. 

You will perceive that we have retained some features that distin- 
guish our present plan. 

1. We provide for a convention of life members, with limited powers 
and responsibilities. 

2. A large board for the purpose of securing a proper supervision 
and extending an interest. 

3. A small executive committee, with powers accurately defined, and 
responsible to the board. 

Our object has been to combine the popular and the conservative ele- 
ments, and interpose such checks and balances as shall insure safety in 
the action of the machinery. 

We hope the other members of the committee will be able to give it 
a thorough examination. 

Dr. Wayland will probably write you, or Dr. Williams, more fully 
on the subject. 

Mr. Fletcher has given much attention to this business, and rendered 
us essential aid. 

Deacon Lincoln is nearly crushed under his burdens, and must soon 
have relief. We hope soon to hear favorable news from New York, 
showing that the forty-thousand-dollar debt will he paid. 
With true esteem, 

Your brother in Christ, 

Baron Stow. 

Rev. Dr. Cone, New York. 

Boston, October 15, 1845. 

My dear Brother : I wrote you yesterday, forwarding the draft of 
a constitution. 

This morning our beloved Brother Judson and three children arrived 
in the Sophia Walker, Captain Codman. 

When at the Isle of France, Mrs. Judson appeared to be so much bet- 
ter that he thought it best to send back his Burraan assistant, and pro- 
ceed to the United States, for the purpose of only a brief visit. But 
they had scarcely left when Mrs. J. was again taken quite ill. Leaving 
the Paragon, in which they sailed from Maulmain for England, they 
took passage in the Sophia Walker direct for Boston. While at St. 
Helena Mrs. Judson died. She was interred the same day, Septem- 
ber 1. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE MISSIONARY UNION. 209 

Brother Judson's general health is quite good, but his voice, owing to 
a bronchial affection, is feeble. He is now at my house, where he will 
remain a few days, and joins in Christian assurances to yourself and 
family. 

In much haste, 

Yours, fraternally, 

Baron Stow. 
Rev. Dr. Cone, New York. 

Boston, October 22, 1845. 

My dear Brother : Your favor of the 20th came to hand this morning. 
Mr. Lincoln I have not been able to see. I read it to Mr. Fletcher, and 
then enclosed it to Dr. Wayland. 

I am not aware that the New England members of the committee are 
determined to adhere to their plan. They thought it best to make out a 
draft in accordance with their own views, and submit the same for the 
consideration of the other members. We devoted to it much time and 
thought, and we feel a strong confidence that, if it should be adopted, 
the plan would work well. 

As it regards the word " Convention " in the name, we of course 
shall not be tenacious. The term has been ours for more than thirty 
years, and it certainly will be no infringement of the rights of our 
southern brethren if we retain it. 

My own impression is, that a large majority of the Convention will 
prefer, in the second article, "throughout the world" to any other 
phrase. I am willing to concede that, and so is Mr. Fletcher. 

Most of the other questions at issue between us will probably be set- 
tled whenever we can agree with respect to the main point — the struc- 
ture of an organization. The difference is so wide that I see not how 
we shall be likely to come together unless we can have a meeting of the 
whole committee, in which the subject shall be thoroughly canvassed. 
My own opinion is, that if the executive committee or acting board is 
to be located in Boston, our plan will be decidedly the best. The Amer- 
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions have a prudential 
committee of seven, who meet once a week, and do their work well. 
Not a member of that executive committee expends as much time and 
labor as I do in an acting board of fifteen. Not one of them is a 
" paid soldier." Everything is done systematically and efficiently. We 
can find seven or nine brethren who would do as well, and ask no com- 
pensation. 

I need not enlarge. Dr. Wayland will probably write you his views. 
May God give us all wisdom, and enable us to coincide in some plan 
that will please himself. I desire onlv that we may devise some method 
14 



210 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

by which we can labor together, in love, for the propagation of the 
blessed gospel throughout the world. 

Your brief sentence respecting the subscription for the forty-thousand- 
dollar-debt gives me pain. I fondly hoped to hear from you some- 
thing encouraging. How can we in good faith change our constitution 
before provision is made for the extinguishing of that debt? If the 
old Convention should be dissolved, to whom may our creditors look for 
the liquidating of their claims ? Mr. Fletcher says the individual mem- 
bers of the Convention will be held in law. Other questions will 
arise involving us in legal difficulties. I see not how we can move in 
our new-modelling enterprise unless the entire debt is provided for. 
New England will furnish her twenty-five thousand dollars. Cannot 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania supply the remainder. 

I ought to have said a word respecting the clause in our plan, making 
the members of the Convention who may be present life members, &c. 
Our object was to create at once a body that could organize and pro- 
ceed to action ; and we could think of no other plan so feasible, and 
which would conciliate good feeling on the part of such as might be 
at the trouble and expense of attending an extra session. We do not, 
however, attach great importance to that item. It appeared to us a 
happy mode for the transmigration of the soul from one body to another. 

Brother Judson is now with his sister at Plymouth. Providence per- 
mitting, he will be in New York at the Convention. 
With unabated esteem and confidence, 

Your affectionate brother, 

Baron Stow. 

Boston, October 28, 1845. 

My dear Brother : Your favor of the 24th came to hand yesterday 
morning. Of course we are highly gratified with the prospect of eight 
thousand dollars from New York towards the forty thousand dollars. 
Our current receipts, apart from the debt, this month, have been already 
more than six thousand dollars. By the steamer of November 1, we 
forward ten thousand dollars to the Barings in London. 

Should the right kind of feeling prevail among the brethren at the 
extra session of the Convention, perhaps something can be done on the 
spot towards completing the forty-thousand-dollar subscription. 

I see not, my dear brother, how the minds of our committee of nine 
can be harmonized by correspondence. Ought we not to have a meet- 
ing of the whole committee, and endeavor to agree upon something 
that we can all readily support? 

I regret that I should have unwittingly led you to suspect that I prefer 
Presbyterian aristocracy to Baptist or New Testament republicanism. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 211 

I referred to the fact that seven men in the system of the A. B. C. F. 
M. do a certain service without pay simply to answer one of your objec- 
tions to our plan. Whether so small a number of Baptists could be 
trusted to do a similar work for a single year under the instructions of 
a board of sixty or seventy-five, is another question. 

Let us seek wisdom from above. If we are willing to do Christ's 
work upon his own plan, we shall certainly come together and affection- 
ately cooperate. As far as we have attained, let us mind the same 
thing, and walk by the same rule. And if in anything we are otherwise 
minded, God will reveal even this unto us. 
With true affection, 

Your brother and fellow-laborer, 

Baron Stow. 
Kev. Dr. Cone, New York. 

Boston, January 30, 1846. 

My dear Brother : Ever since that blessed meeting of the General 
Convention in November last, I have intended to write you, tendering 
my personal thanks for the noble part which you acted on that occasion. 
Knowing fully, as I did, your views and feelings on various points, I 
regarded your course with admiration, and almost wonder. A richer 
specimen of Christian magnanimity I have never witnessed. Pardon 
the freedom with which I write. My heart guides my pen. I shall 
ever associate that precious occasion with the grace of God bestowed 
upon yourself as the chairman of the committee of nine. 

I feel much solicitude with reference to the organization of our Union 
in May next. There ought, it seems to me, to be some correspondence 
or conference of our more aged and experienced brethren in different 
parts of the country touching the appointment of a home secretary. 
We have, for some time, had our eyes fixed on Brother Bright, of 
Homer, N. Y., as the most suitable man for this post. His heart is fer- 
vently enlisted in the cause of foreign missions, and we can think of no 
one else so well fitted for the place vacated by Brother Pattison. 

I have read with pain the " statement" of a committee of the Ameri- 
can Bible Society. It savors of the old spirit of persecution. The 
counter statement of the American and Foreign Bible Society is manly, 
dignified, Christian, and will tell to the full weight of its metal. 

In heaven there will be none of this squabbling. May you and I find 
that peaceful home. 

Most fraternally, 

Baron Stow. 

Rev. Dr. Cone. 



212 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Boston, May 9, 1846. 

My dear Brother : I have seen this morning, in the last number of 
the New York Baptist Register, published at Utica, an article that occa- 
sions me unutterable distress. The editor, in his leading article, pro- 
fesses to have ascertained the true author of the constitution of the 
American Baptist Missionary Union, and gives the source of his infor- 
mation. 

The facts are these. Just before " Elder " Bennett left New York city 
for an excursion into the western part of the state, he wrote me, 
requesting me to furnish him with suggestions that might aid him in his 
enterprise. He wished to remove prejudices from the minds of some 
good brethren, &c. I accordingly wrote him at Rochester, giving my 
views on various points. I stated that I knew the meaning of every 
word and syllable of the constitution, as I had transcribed it seven 
times, and spent weeks of labor and prayer in its preparation. I cer- 
tainly never said or intimated that I was the " sole author " of the docu- 
ment. I did not intend to convey such an impression. The outlines of 
the constitution were agreed upon by the four New England members 
of the committee, and the labor of preparing the instrument was com- 
mitted to me. Subsequently, at a full meeting of the committee in 
New York, several important modifications were made at your own 
suggestion. 

Providence permitting, I shall be in New York on Wednesday. My 
throat and lungs are in a bad state, and I greatly fear that I may be 
wholly unfit for the Thursday evening service. 
Very sincerely, 

Your brother, as ever, 

Baron Stow. 

Rev. Dr. Cone, N. Y. 

The foregoing correspondence shows us the interest which 
Mr. Stow took in the formation of the "Missionary Union," and 
the important service he rendered in drafting its excellent 
constitution. Modestly disclaiming, as he does, the entire 
authorship of this constitution, it is, nevertheless, evident that 
his peculiar gift in drawing up such papers is to be traced in 
all its sections and parts. It was his aim to preserve a just 
mean between an organization so loose and general in its 
character, that it had no power of concentration, and one 
which should be but little better than a close corporation. 
While both experience and observation taught him that a 



DEATH OF HIS MOTHER. 213 

society having so large a constituency as the " Union " must 
do its work through a few men of responsible character and 
tried integrity, yet he would not lodge power in the hands 
of a few, even of the best of men, without making them 
accountable to some higher authority. He knew how jealous 
the denomination has been of any approach to what might 
seem ecclesiastical authority placed in the hands of a few 
persons. The wisdom of the steps he took has been amply 
justified by the history of the Union. 

The narrative of his ministerial life is the record of the 
usual cares and toil which are incident to the life of a faith- 
ful pastor ; and for several months we find nothing of such 
interest as to be worthy of a special prominence in a Memoir 
like this. On the 23d of May, 1846, the Missionary Union was 
fully organized, with Dr. Sharp for its president. Mr. Stow 
was urged to accept the office of corresponding secretary, but 
he felt obliged to decline. He was, however, appointed on 
the executive committee. A Sabbath or two after this he 
alludes to an address made by Dr. Dean to the Baldwin 
Place congregation, " in a strain of Christian simplicity and 
tenderness," he remarks, "which I never heard surpassed. 
At some points hundreds were overpowered with emotion, 
and melted into tears. I have never witnessed in any man 
stronger proofs of entire consecration to Christ. In the 
evening a public meeting was held in Baldwin Place pre- 
paratory to the departure of Brother Dean and Ko A Bak 
for China. It was good to be there. Brother Neale gave 
the address." The next day Dr. Dean left for New York, 
where he embarked for the distant field of his mission- 
ary labor. Within a month Dr. Judson and those who 
accompanied him, left in the ship Faneuil Hall for Bur- 
mah. Scenes like these kept burning the flame of missionary 
zeal which long since had been kindled in the heart of Mr. 
Stow. 

He makes a touching record in his journal, a few weeks 
later, on receiving the intelligence of the death of his 
mother. 



214 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

August 31, 1846. Found a letter from sister P., communicating the 
expected but most afflicting intelligence of my precious mother's depart- 
ure for a better world. She died August 19, at three and a half P. M., 
aged seventy-one. I need grace to enable me to regard the dispensa- 
tion in its right light, and to derive from it spiritual benefit. God has 
come near to me. O, how excellent that mother ! How faithful has 
she been in every relation ! How prudent, how quiet, how pious*! How 
much am I indebted to her prayers, instructions, and examples ! Have 
I valued her as I should ? 



PERSONAL ANXIETIES. 215 



CHAPTER XV. 

a busy ministerial llfe. — anxiety with reference to his 
Church. — Journal. — Resignation. 

1847-1848. 

We return again to those more quiet scenes in the life of 
Dr. Stow, * when, as a pastor, he gave his best energies of 
mind and heart to the promotion of the religious welfare 
of his people. The year 1847 opens with some discourage- 
ments. In his view a long period had passed away since 
his church had been blessed with one of those seasons of 
religious refreshing in which he so much delighted. He 
hails with joy every token that seems to indicate the return 
of the Spirit to the congregatioD, whom he unceasingly bears 
in his affections. " Is God about to appear for us ? " he 
writes at the close of his record of the meeting, held, as usual, 
at the beginning of the new year. If he is " prostrated in 
body," he is " hopeful in . mind." " Lord, help me to rely on 
thee alone," is his fervent prayer. Weeks pass, and no such 
blessing comes as he has been hoping for. One inquirer — "a 
rare visitor " — calls on him. "It is a sweet privilege to direct 
him to Christ, and to kneel with him before the cross in 
supplication of God's forgiving mercy. O, when shall I see 
many of my congregation turn the weeping eye and the anx- 
ious heart towards Calvary ! " 

At the meeting of the Missionary Union in Cincinnati, in 
May, he preached the annual sermon. The change of scene, 

* The honorary degree of D. D. was conferred on Mr. Stow by 
Brown University in 1846, and by Harvard College in 1855. 



216 ^lE^TOIR OF DR. STOW. 

as usual, operated favorably iu the restoration of his health 
and spirits. On the return of the party who were his com- 
panions, they passed a day or two at Xiagara Falls, which 
he now saw for the first time. " O, how tame," he writes, 
" are all descriptions that I have ever read of this wonderful 
cataract ! The image is fixed in my mind, and will long re- 
main, but words are inadequate to represent it." A few 
weeks afterwards we find him at Waterville, attending: the 
commencement of the college, to the presidency of which he 
had so often been invited. As the guest of Professor M. B. 
Anderson, he received those kind attentions which were 
always so grateful to him. On the 15th of August occurred 
a farewell missionary meeting at the Rowe Street Church, 
which was addressed by Rev. Mr. Abbott, " whose descrip- 
tions," says Dr. Stow, " were graphic, and his appeals power- 
ful. The Lord go with and preserve him, and make him 
useful. Fifteen hundred converted Karens are waiting for 
baptism, and he hastens to meet them, and administer to 
them that precious ordinance." He is ready to respond to 
calls frequently made on him for services in places more or 
less remote from Boston. On the 18th of August he de- 
livers an oration in Sherburne, on the occasion of the erection 
of a monument to the memory of his ancestor, Henry Leland. 
A little more than a month later he preached the sermon at 
the dedication of the new house of worship of the First 
Baptist Church in Springfield. In the record of November 7 
he refers to the circumstance of having completed the fifteenth 
year of his ministry in Baldwin Place. " Soon I must give 
an account of my stewardship. Lord, help me to be faithful 
unto the end." 

Allusion has already been made to the discouragement 
which Dr. Stow felt as the pastor of a church whose families 
were moving to other and more attractive, sections of the 
city. These losses keenly affected Mm. The friends who 
left him were those to whom he felt a peculiar attachment. 
Athough for a time some of them, influenced by feelings 
of personal attachment, retained their membership in his 



ANOTHER CALL. 217 

church, yet he could not help noticing that gradually they 
withdrew from the more social, and what he regarded as the 
more spiritual, meetings of the church, and at length no 
longer filled their places in the house of worship on the Sab- 
bath. The distance was too great, and the inconvenience too 
serious, to be overcome, and these families, by degrees, fell 
into other places of worship nearer their own dwellings. He 
was too sincere in his own affection, and too candid in his 
judgment, to ascribe the action of his friends to any diminu- 
tion of attachment to him. He acknowledged that the sacri- 
fice was too great on their part to leave churches which pre- 
sented as many attractions, and perhaps more than his own, 
to go to the extreme north-eastern section of the city, through 
streets some of which had become largely the residence of 
a foreign population, who were not altogether the most 
agreeable people to meet every Sabbath. He was beginning, 
moreover, to feel seriously the almost constant drafts which 
had been made on his energies for so many years, and to 
question whether it might not be for the honor of the Master, 
and the promotion of his own usefulness, to change the scene 
of his ministerial labors. In addition to these things, there 
were some internal difficulties in the church, not uncommon, 
indeed, because they are liable to befall any church, but such 
as weighed upon his spirit, affecting a nervous system already 
jaded and worn by the unremitting labors of years of active 
service. We do not wonder, therefore, to find him, at the 
beginning of the year 1848, weighing carefully and prayer- 
fully the question of personal duty. "Can I resign the 
pastorate without essential harm to the interests in Baldwin 
Place ? I can sacrifice anything but the cause of Christ. O, 
my Saviour, show me thy will, and help me to obey, what- 
ever the cost to myself." In the midst of his perplexity, he 
tells us that an " old friend and former parishioner called to 
sound me, respecting the transfer of my pastoral relation 
to another church out of the city. The duties there would 
be light, the support ample, and the pleasures of residence 
desirable." Unable, however, to answer afiirmatively the 



218 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

question, " Is my work in Baldwin Place done ? " he would 
give no encouragement to his friend. His purpose was, if he 
resigned, to give himself a respite of several months before 
accepting another call, and he did not wish to have his mind 
harassed by invitations to settle elsewhere. 

We present a few extracts from his journal, showing the 
general state of his feelings, and making allusions to passing 
events. 

March 10. Wrote several letters, and finished reading Dibble's 
Thoughts on Missions — a work which has stirred my inmost soul, and 
given me many a feeling of compunction. Two P. M. The bells are 
tolling, the body of J. Q. Adams has arrived, and the grand procession 
is bearing it to Faneuil Hall. God sees how much of benevolence and 
how much of selfishness are mingled in these pageants. How ready we 
are to honor others, living or dead, when, by so doing, we can honor 
ourselves ! 

Baltimore, April 10. Concluded to remain here another day. The 
air is truly balmy and refreshing. Dr. Fuller called. We spent two 
hours agreeably. His mind is working deeply on the subject of slavery. 
Dr. Plummer joined us, and the conversation turned on High-churchism, 
becoming occasionally quite piquant. I said but little — listened the 
more. Dr. Fuller remarked, " that the Baptists had more charity for 
the Presbyterians than the latter had for the former." This Dr. Plum- 
mer denied. " Why," said Dr. Fuller, turning to me, " I expect to 
baptize Dr. Plummer yet, and see him pastor of a Baptist church." Dr. 
Plummer rose and approached me, saying, " As for Brother Fuller, I 
never expect to see him anything but a close communion Baptist." 
" There," exclaimed Dr. Fuller, " I told him we were more charitable 
than they. I have hope of him that he will yet come into the light, and 
do better, but he has no hope of me." 

Washington, April 18. Last Saturday night seventy-seven slaves 
escaped from the District, and went on board a vessel in the river, and 
started on a race for freedom. Sunday morning two thousand dollars 
were offered for the capture of the vessel and the recovery of the fugi- 
tives. A steamboat, armed, was sent in pursuit, news was sent by tele- 
graph to Baltimore, and the revenue cutter went down the bay for the 
same purpose. They were overtaken and seized ; at eight and a half this 
morning the captain of the vessel and two other white men were brought 
up from the wharf, past our lodgings, and shut up in jail. At the 
same time the slaves were marched by, shackled together two and two, 
and likewise lodged in jail. O, it was a pitiable sight. France drives 
away her oppressors, and emancipates her slaves, and the people here 



RESIGNS PASTOKATE OF BALDWIN PLACE CHURCH. 219 

are boisterous in their expressions of sympathy. A few Africans 
endeavor, without violence, to gain their freedom, and the men who aid 
them are cursed, seized, and punished. How does God view these 
things ? My soul is sickened and disgusted. 

Washington, April 20. Rode to College Hill ; spent the remainder of 
the day with President Bacon and family. How familiar were all the 
surroundings — the room occupied by Brother Knowles and myself, 
" No. 30," the room of the Enosinian Society, with the banner of the 
society (a device of my own), the library, the chapel, &c, &c. There I 
saw the very books which I devoured with avidity, and from which 
I derived stores of valuable knowledge. The only one about the 
premises whom I recognized was Professor W. R. He has been there 
from the beginning, and is the same precious good man. 

Washington, April 21. Threatened with my heart trouble. I keep 
my room to-day. The excitement without is alarming. For three nights 
the mob has collected around the office of the National Era (an able 
anti-slavery paper), and made some threatening demonstrations. Mr. 
Palfrey, of Massachusetts, in the House, and Mr. Hale, of New Hamp- 
shire, in the Senate, yesterday introduced resolutions for the appoint- 
ment of committees of inquiry touching these disturbances, which were 
as firebrands in a magazine. I cannot walk out, or enter a shop, with- 
out hearing violent and profane language, denouncing and threatening 
the opponents of slavery. What a savage a man is when his passions 
are aroused ! 

During this visit among his friends in Washington, Dr. 
Stow came to the decision which cost him so much pain, and 
which he reached only after long and earnest deliberation. 
It is thus that he alludes to the disruption of the ties which 
for so many years had bound him to Baldwin Place : — 

May 18. This has been one of the most trying days of my life. I 
have written my letter of resignation, intending, if Providence permit, 
to have it read to my people next Lord's day. It is an act which I have 
long dreaded, but to which I can see no alternative. O God, thou 
knowest my heart, and wilt judge me at the last day ! Do I not love 
this people ? Do I not leave them in obedience to thy will ? Does not 
thy providence make my duty plain and imperative? 

Those who place as high an estimate as Dr. Stow did on 
permanency in the pastoral relation, and the sacredness of the 
ties which bind church and minister, will be able to sympa- 
thize with him in the great struggle through which he passed* 



220 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Those, on the contrary, who view the relation very much in 
the same light that some of our modern reformers regard the 
marriage bond, will have but very little sympathy with this 
greatly perplexed pastor. The following was the communi- 
cation which he read to the congregation at the close of the 
morning service, May 21. He very touchingly says, "God 
gave me strength to do it firmly. My heart ached, but I was 
able to suppress emotion, and to control myself so as to make 
no demands on the sympathy of others." 

To the Baldwin Place Baptist Church and Society. 

Dear Brethren and Friends : When my esteemed pred- 
ecessor, the Rev. James D. Knowles, entered upon his duties 
as your pastor, he had perfect health ; and yet, before seven 
years had elapsed, he found himself oppressed by the cares 
and responsibilities of his onerous charge, and compelled, by 
a regard to self-preservation, to retire to another field of labor. 
I succeeded him, in the autumn of 1832, with a constitution 
naturally slender, and impaired by repeated attacks of dis- 
ease, to which, from early childhood, I had been subjected. 
Consequently I did not indulge the expectation that my 
period of useful labor in your service could possibly equal 
that of the worthy brother who had preceded me. That I 
have been able to retain my position for more than double 
that time is to be attributed, under God, to your peculiar 
kindness and forbearance. 

I am happy to bear testimony that you have never de- 
i manded of me service beyond my ability to perform. On the 
contrary, you have ever been tenderly considerate and careful 
of my health, and given me every desirable facility for its 
preservation. Not only have you provided for my regular 
support in a way that has given me entire satisfaction, but in 
numerous instances you have, by special acts of liberality, 
created occasion for my fervent and lasting gratitude. In 
return, I have endeavored, to the full extent of my capability, 
to serve you in the gospel of Christ. Of the manner in which 
I have executed my trust it does not become me to speak. 



LETTEE OF RESIGNATION. 221 

Ye are my witnesses, and God is my Judge. Many of you are 
not ignorant that during the last five years I have often been 
compelled by physical infirmities to contemplate the probabil- 
ity of a dissolution of the ties which have bound us in a happy 
connection. The thought of such an issue has always been 
painful to myself; but I could not avoid the apprehension 
that Providence would force it upon us. During the last four 
months, other considerations, of a very emphatic kind, have 
contributed with my impaired health to settle my convictions 
that my continuance as your pastor is incompatible with both 
my usefulness and my happiness. This announcement would 
have been sooner made but for the persuasions of others, 
whose reasons for delay appealed to feelings to which I hope 
never to be a stranger. 

The indications are so clear that no alternative remains 
but for me to declare, respectfully and firmly, that duty to 
you, to myself, and above all, to the cause of our common 
Lord, demands my retirement from the office with which you 
have so long and so indulgently honored me. To that de- 
mand I yield as to a necessity which I have not created, and 
which I can neither resist nor modify. 

But that my action may occasion you &s little embarrass- 
ment as possible, and that you may have time to mature 
arrangements for the future, I am not unwilling to postpone 
for a few weeks the final act of separation. I will see the 
pulpit supplied until the 1st of July next, and will render such 
other service in the mean time as the state of my health may 
permit, and as may best contribute to your interest. 

I leave you, my beloved flock, with emotions which no 
language can adequately represent. I cannot trust myself in 
any attempt to give them utterance. 

Reminiscences of the tenderest character crowd my mind, 
and awaken feelings which can better be interpreted by your 
own hearts than by my words. I shall therefore spare you, 
as I would spare myself, the review of the years which we 
have passed in happy union. My affection for you has been 
as strong as my nature permitted, and that affection remains 



222 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

undiminished. I have given you my best days and my best 
strength, and I now retire with no prospect of future occupa- 
tion, simply committing myself to the care of that faithful 
Providence which has never left me unemployed or uncom- 
pensated. Whatever may be the lot which that Providence 
shall assign me, your prosperity will, to the last, be the object 
of my constant solicitude and my fervent prayers. 
With affectionate respect, 

Your friend and brother, 

Baeon Stow. 
Boston, May 21, 1848. 

The most sincere endeavors were made by the church to 
induce him to withdraw his resignation, but he had long and 
anxiously weighed the matter which had been pressing upon 
his mind, and his purpose remained fixed and unalterable. 
The record of his closing service as pastor of the Baldwin 
Place Church is in the following words : — 

June 25, Lord's day. In the morning preached from Rev. xxi. 4, 
first clause, and baptized five young persons. The house was very full, 
and the occasion was one of tender interest. Lord, bless thou the ser- 
vices to the conversion of sinners. Afternoon I remained at home. 
The services of the morning drew deeply on my excitability, and I have 
suffered severely as the result. The Baldwin Place Baptist Society met, 
and, I am told, passed some kind resolutions, expressive of their feelings, 
in consequence of my decision. They are indeed a generous people. I 
have occasion to love them. Nothing but a clear conviction of duty 
compels me to leave them. 

The next day the resolutions referred to were placed in 
his hands. They are alluded to in the following record : — 

June 26. Received a communication from N. Nelson, clerk of the 
Baldwin Place Baptist Society, with a copy of the following resolutions, 
adopted yesterday afternoon. 

Resolved, That the reply of Rev. Baron Stow to our request that he 
would withdraw his resignation of the pastoral office fills us with the 
most profound sorrow. And while we cannot suppress the painful emo- 
tions occasioned by the severing of the tie that has so long bound us 



SUMMARY OF LABORS. 223 

together, as pastor and people, yet, believing him to be actuated by a 
sincere conviction of duty, we accept his resignation. 

Resolved, We cannot permit this opportunity to pass without bear- 
ing testimony to the faithfulness, assiduity, ability, and untiring zeal 
that have distinguished both his pulpit and pastoral labors ; and while it 
will ever be our happiness to cherish the recollections of the many 
hallowed associations that crowd so thickly all the way along his pastoral 
connection with us, we will pray that, whatever post of duty God may 
hereafter assign him, he may continue to be distinguished for a faithful 
discharge of his duty, and receive at last from the lips of his Master the 
welcome, " Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy 
of thy Lord." 

Resolved, That sixteen years of faithful service, resulting in the 
prostration of his health, and in his inability to perform any labor 
probably for several months to come, render it a duty, as it is also a 
pleasure, that we should make some provision for his support until he 
is able to resume his professional duties. 

Resolved, That the treasurer be directed to pay to Rev. Baron Stow 
his salary to 1st of October next, less the expense of supplying the pul- 
pit up to that date. 

The record of his work while pastor of the Baldwin Place 
Church he thus briefly sums up : "I have preached fifteen 
hundred and sixty-six sermons, made thirteen thousand four 
hundred and thirty-four pastoral visits, baptized six hundred 
and fifty-five, attended seven hundred and fifteen funerals, 
and solemnized five hundred and seventy-eight marriages. 
During this period I have travelled more than twenty-five 
thousand miles." 

June 30. This day concludes my pastoral relation to Baldwin Place. 
I am oppressed by the recollections that crowd my mind. I remember 
the goodness of God to me and mine, my sins and imperfections, my 
labors, my successes, my enjoyments and trials. O that God would 
forgive all that has been wrong in thought, feeling, desire, word, and 
action ! May I to-day be cleansed, by the blood of Christ, from all sin. 
May I believe anew in the atoning Saviour, and be anew accepted 
through him. May I be thankful for all mercies. A fresh consecration 
will I make to the service of my Lord and Master. Body and soul I lay 
upon the altar. Lord, I am thine, wholly, thine, forevermore. My heart 
bleeds for my dear people, soon to be no more my peculiar charge. Lord, 
take them under thy paternal care. Keep them affectionately united. 



224 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

Provide for them an intelligent, kind, devoted, faithful pastor, who shall 
feed them with knowledge and understanding. " Peace be within thy 
walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." 

How Baron Stow, for so many years the laborious, af- 
fectionate pastor of a confiding flock, felt, on being thus 
drawn aside from the chosen pursuits of his life, may be in- 
ferred from his own words. 

July 1. To-day I enter upon a new era of my life. I am without 
employment ! To be free from the burden that has long pressed upon 
me is truly a relief, and yet this very relief has its sadness and sorrow. 
I have loved my people and my work, and now to surrender both is a 
heavy trial ; but my conviction of duty is unclouded by a doubt. Every 
day adds to its strength. One of the interesting facts in the case is, that 
no one, to my knowledge, has blamed me, or questioned my motives. 
All say, " You have done right." It is gratifying to have the approba- 
tion of the wise and good, but still more to have the approval of Heaven. 
Still let me trust my heavenly Father. He has ever guided and pro- 
tected me, and provided for me. Into thy hands I commend myself 
and family, and all our interests for time and eternity. The Lord is 
my portion. 



225 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Reminiscences of Baldwin Place Church. — Correspondence. — 
Call to the Pierrepont Street Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. — 
Call to the Rowe Street Church, Boston. — Acceptance op 
the latter call. — jourxal. 

The ministry of Dr. Stow, as the pastor of the Baldwin 
Place Church, commenced, as we have already seen, Novem- 
ber 15, 1832, and closed July 1, 1848, thus covering a period 
of nearly sixteen years. That it was an eminently successful 
ministry, the record we have given abundantly proves. In a 
previous chapter we have quoted from a communication 
written by Dr. Stow, on the occasion of the farewell service 
held in the venerable church previous to its being given up to 
the corporation of gentlemen known as the " Baldwin Place 
Home for Little Wanderers." This letter has so much to do 
with his own connection with the religious society which was 
removing to its new home in the south part of the city, that 
we cannot do better than lay another extract from it before 
our readers. 

" When I commenced my labors, the deacons were Edward 
Smith, Jacob Hiler, Ezra Chamberlain, Samuel Beal, Benja- 
min Eamball, and Benjamin Smith, all good men and true. 
Of these, two survive, having their membership in other 
churches. Subsequently two others were elected. I de- 
light to remember the many who were then active in the 
church, ready co-workers with the pastor. Hardly shall I 
disparage the brethren if I speak in strong terms of the piety, 
steadfastness, and holy consistency of a large body of female 
members. Might it not seem invidious, I could, from 
^15 



226 MEMOES OP DR. STOW. 

memory, give the names of a hundred, mostly baptized by 
Dr. Baldwin, and trained by him in doctrinal belief and in 
ways of holy living. I can understand the apostle when he 
speaks of godly women who labored with him in the gospel. 
But the brethren were not deficient. They stood by me, and 
encouraged me in my spiritual work ; and I remember with 
gratitude their zealous, useful fidelities. 

" When I entered upon the charge of the church, its mem- 
bership was four hundred and seventy-nine. In the next ten 
years three hundred and forty-eight were dismissed, mostly 
to forcn new churches. Yet at the end of ten years the 
membership was eight hundred and sixty-one. In that period 
we had three revivals of great power. The most memorable 
one was in 1838, for it was most decidedly marked as the 
product of the Holy Spirit. Many still remember, and will 
never forget, that hallowed evening of December 31, 1837, 
when under a sermon — the union lecture of the four 
churches — more than a hundred were awakened, who sub- 
sequently related their experience of sovereign grace, and 
were baptized. The strength added to the church by that 
revival was greater than by any other, except by the one 
in 1803-4. 

" Since my retirement from the pastorate in Baldwin Place, 
I have often been called to officiate at the funerals of the 
more aged members. I could render the service with heart. 
I knew their history; I knew the depths of their experi- 
ence ; I could bear candid testimony to their worth. Of the 
many who drew from me a promise, that, if within reach, I 
would perform for them that final service, only a very few 
remain, waiting their Lord's time to pass over the river, and 
join the great multitude on the shhiing shore. The prospect 
of reunion with so many of that dear church in the better 
land is to me inspiring and glorious. My heart would fain 
give their names. But, no : I must forbear ; for I might omit 
some precious ones of whom the world was not worthy. They 
are all registered in the Lamb's book of life. 

" The Baldwin Place Church, as I have known it, has been 



CHARACTERISTICS OP BALDWIN PLACE CHURCH. 227 

distinguished for union of the body. I doubt if any church 
of equal numbers has been more closely united than this has 
been since the settlement of Dr. Baldwin, nearly seventy-five 
years ago. 

" There has been special attention to corrective discipline. 
Regard has been had to the purity of the church. Scandals 
have been promptly noted and reprehended. Some things 
tolerated in other churches have ever been in this church 
subject to animadversion. If any may have thought her dis- 
cipline sometimes too stringent, none have charged it with 
favoritism or partiality. By acting promptly, she has cleared 
herself from reproach, and vindicated the cause of truth and 
good morals. "Where evidence of contrition was apparent, 
no church was ever more forgiving, or ready to welcome back 
the censured. 

" The liberality of the Baldwin Place Church is worthy of 
mention. Knowing the limitations of their pecuniary ability, 
I was often amazed at the ease with which they could raise 
generous contributions for necessary purposes. In other 
churches, often the few give largely, and many give nothing. 
In Baldwin Place, none gave largely, but many gave some- 
thing ; and thus aggregates frequently exceeded my anticipa- 
tions. Such giving I regarded as healthful to the church. It 
is the gospel rule, — every one according to ability. 

"As I knew the church, it was, by the grace of God, eminent 
for spirituality. The great majority of the members main- 
tained habitual devotion. Family altars were numerous. 
Prayer meetings were such in reality, as well as in name. 
The prayers of that people were all along my comfort and 
support. The number of those who walked with God was 
large ; and I felt as if I were among those who willingly were 
* strangers and pilgrims on the earth.' 

" Brethren and friends, my heart is full, and I could write 
indefinitely ; but I must not monopolize your attention. I feel 
tenderly under the melting reminiscences called up by the 
occasion. When quite young, I read in Ossian, that * the 
memory of joys past is like the music of Caryl, pleasant, but 



228 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

mournful to the soul.' Such is my state of mind. The re- 
view is pleasant, because it pertains to joys ; it is mournful, 
because those joys are past. But, blessed be the God of all 
grace, there are joys to come. We are going, in rapid suc- 
cession, to a home where no changes bring sadness to the 
heart ; where no separations lacerate the sensibilities ; where 
all the good will be together, and remain together forever, 
one consolidated church. Let us unweariedly perform our 
allotted service, and patiently wait for the setting of our sun, 
and steadfastly hope for the promised rest ! These tearful 
partings are only for a season. The children of God never 
see one another for the last time. And, best of all, the Master 
says, ' Yet a little while, and ye shall see ME.' " 

Before we proceed farther in the order of narrative, we 
will lay before our readers a few extracts from the corre- 
spondence embraced within the years 1845-48. The letters 
written by Dr. Sharp are all eminently characteristic. Those 
of the readers of this Memoir who recall the traits of charac- 
ter of the venerable pastor of the Charles Street Church will 
see in these letters a true transcript of the man. Early in 
the year 1845 he had left his home for the purpose of revisit- 
ing the scenes and reviving the associations of his youthful 
days. From across the ocean he thus writes to his beloved 
friend in Boston : — 

Boston (I mean Manchester), April 14, 1845. 
My dear Brother : A fortnight ago this afternoon I was at home, 
receiving the parting visits of my friends. Now I am in England. 
Truly steam navigation brings distant places near. I can scarcely real- 
ize that I am so far from Boston. We arrived yesterday (Sabbath) in 
Liverpool, at about five o'clock in the morning. Our passage was a very 
pleasant one. We had, in fact, a fair wind all the way, with the excep- 
tion, perhaps, of half a day. I was very sick a few days, and very 
squeamish a few more days ; but I was an entire stranger to timidity or 
fear. I missed the Sabbath services very much, and always felt that I 
had sailed away from the path of duty. The captain read prayers with 
very great propriety, and also read a good sermon on the " rest which 
remaineth for the people of God." None of us (in conformity with the 



DE. SHARP IN ENGLAND. 229 

usage of the captain) were asked to preach. We were treated, how- 
ever, with respect and kindness by every one. I doubt whether within 
the last forty years there was ever an equal number of passengers who 
conducted with more propriety than the one hundred and twenty on 
board the Cambria. I confess, in that respect, I was greatly disappoint- 
ed. I received far more attention and respect from every one than I 
was entitled to. Drs. Codman and Parkman were very pleasant fellow- 
travellers. We conversed agreeably on a great many topics, both in- 
structive and interesting, but quarrelled about none. No one gave up 
his principles, nor avoided giving a pleasant utterance to them ; but no 
one beat them into the other. I should be very happy to return with 
either or both of them. 

On the Sabbath (i. e., yesterday) I went in the morning to hear Mr. 
Lister. He preached from 2 Peter iii. 17. A very judicious sermon. 
With the singing I was delighted. There were an organ and a choir ; 
but in addition to these almost the whole congregation sang. O, when 
will our brethren and sisters begin to feel that singing, any more than 
prayer, ought not to be performed by proxy? And then the practice of 
each one, male and female, making a short prayer so soon as they enter 
the chapel, and doing the same at the close of the service, was very 
gratifying to me. It left a solemn impression on my own mind. The 
effect on my feelings was better than some sermons which I have heard. 
1 confess I should love to see this practice general in all our congrega- 
tions. The truth is that, in avoiding the errors of Popery, we have gone 
to the other extreme, and have cast out everything that appeals to the 
senses. Hence, to supply this want of man's nature, we have to resort 
every few years to measures which, in my opinion, are as humiliating, 
objectionable, and unscriptural as some of the greatest fooleries of 
Popery. 

In the evening I went to hear Dr. Raffles ; but he was from home on 
an exchange. I do not know the gentleman's name who preached, 
neither do I care to call it up. It was an exceedingly commonplace 
sermon, delivered in a pompous, mouthing, swelling style. It was 
merely inflated words, and measured cadences, now rising and now 
falling, without one original thought, and almost without one old thought. 
I said to my friend Roberts, as we went home, that I thought we of 
New England could preach as well as that. 

To-morrow I expect to visit Yorkshire, and to place myself amid the 
inanimate objects of my youthful days, for among the animate ones 
how few shall I find that I knew ! You will smile at my weakness when 
I tell you that the sight of a female to-day with a red cloak brought 
tears to my eyes, for I had not seen one on any one since I last saw my 
own dear mother in hers. It awakened recollections which alone a son 
loved of his mother, and revering her piety and wisdom, can under- 
stand. 



230 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Camberwell, May 17, 1845. 

My dear Brother : Your letter of the 28th ultimo came duly to 
hand. I was glad to recognize the writing of one I so much love and 
respect. I approve of the propositions in regard to which you express 
a belief that the board will stand together. In looking over the papers 
which have been sent me, I confess I am astonished at the flames of in- 
dignation which have burst forth in every portion of the south from 
the perusal of so calm and so cool a letter as that sent out to Alabama by 
the board. I have said to myself, truly, " How great a matter no fire 
kindleth ! " I perceive that all sorts of names are given to it. It is 
termed an unconstitutional, morose, bad-tempered, assumptive produc- 
tion ! Is it so ? Could the writer of it be so self-deluded? It was cer- 
tainly penned with great deliberation, with sincere and affectionate good- 
will, with perfect calmness, and in words of measured courtesy and re- 
spect. But so it lias always been — " your good will be evil spoken of." 
I can only say that, had I the same duty to perform again, I would not 
alter a single word, except to make the expressions stronger, and, so far 
as I am concerned, I would give more emphatic utterance to my abhor- 
rence of slavery. 

The whole system is the perpetration of an atrocious wrong to human 
beings, whose only guilt is, that their ancestors were kidnapped and 
forced away across the sea to be slaves, and that they cannot help them- 
selves, and have a skin, alas ! darker than our own. And yet, for the sake 
of a few paltry dollars, to send the gospel to the heathen* — that gospel 
which teaches us to " do unto all men as we would they should do unto 
us " — we must be silent, and never plead the cause of the suffering and 
the oppressed, who cannot and dare not plead for their own personal 
rights ! We have been silent, my brother, too long. And for one, I will 
never consent either to be tongue-tied or pen-tied in regard to the sub- 
ject of slavery. If missions can be sustained only by receiving hush- 
money in regard to an enormous evil in the Southern States, then may 
our missionary operations sink to the bottom of the great deep. But 
they can and will be sustained, and yet every man be left to his own 
discretion and inclination, when and where he shall speak of the sad 
consequences which are attendant on the holding of human beings in 
bondage. 

I have, my dear brother, no new views ; nor do I feel any new-born 
zeal springing up to life within me. From my earliest life I have 
always felt that I would not hold a slave " to fan and feed me, to sweat 
and labor for me, for all the gold that blood, and bones, and sinews ever 
earned." Nor have I ever intended to say or do anything that would 
contravene these inmost sentiments of my heart. It is true, I have 
mingled with respectable and good brethren at the south, and seeing, 



231 

or supposing I saw, the great practical difficulties of immediate emancipa- 
tion, I have sometimes apologized for them, but never for the system. I 
have done more. While I have apologized for them, I have never 
hesitated, on all fitting occasions, to say to them that I considered 
slavery a great evil, personal, social, and domestic, and have entreated 
many of them to use their influence at once in favor of and in preparing 
the way for the abolition of slavery at the earliest practicable moment. 
And this I will say : I was always listened to with respect, and answered 
with candor. I have at times hoped that my own friendly and tem- 
perate appeals would not be lost. But if, in regard to missions, we can 
have union only with silence on that subject, then I would say, — 

" And what is Union but a name, 
A charm that lulls to sleep ? " 

and the sooner it is dissolved the better. As a member of the Foreign 
Missionary Board, for the sake of giving no offence, I have, no doubt, 
taken a less active part in some of the abolition movements than other- 
wise I might have done. I thought that I could really do more good by 
such a course ; but as all that has passed for nothing, I shall act as may 
seem good in my own sight. 

I have, as you know, desired union and cooperation with our 
brethren at the south in regard to our great denominational interests, 
but never at the sacrifice or concealment of any principle. I desire the 
same now, because in my conscience I believe that we might thus do 
each other more good. But I plainly see that union and cooperation 
are impracticable. My hope now is, that we shall separate in peace — 
each great section of the denomination doing its own business in its 
own way. For one, I will never consent to be a party to a union which 
can only be maintained by secrecy, management, and the relinquishment 
of principle, nor of a union which is constantly interrupted by jealousies, 
insinuations, and bitter reproaches. 

I have expressed my astonishment that the south should have taken 
our letter in so high dudgeon. But I feel more than astonished at the 
communications of some at the north. I feel grief, shame, and mortifica- 
tion that there can be any who can be all delicacy and reserve for fear 
of offending slaveholders, and have not a word to say in behalf of that 
large class of human beings, whose cries and groans, not needlessly 
made, have gone and are going up to heaven. I am ashamed that there 
are men who can censure the board for informing the south, in the most 
respectful manner, that they could not appoint a person as a mission- 
ary who should insist on retaining his slaves as his property, especially 
as these very men had declared, before that information was given, that 
they would not vote for a slaveholder as a foreign missionary. 

I should like to know, under their own proper signatures, who are the 



232 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

men, in all New England, who would send out a missionary that should 
insist on leaving his slaves here to add to his income by unpaid or not 
equitably paid toils and labors. If there be such Christian Baptists, 
let them come out, and have their names handed down to posterity as 
the friends of missions, of justice, of equity, and of humanity. 

As to the letter, it has no obscurity to any one who is willing to 
understand it. It needs no explanation. It explains itself. If any 
brother feels that he must give a new version of its secret or latent 
meaning, let him do so for himself; but I trust he will not undertake to 
explain the meaning of his brethren. If the acting board were censured 
at Providence for exceeding the constitutional authority bestowed upon 
them by the Convention in sending forth that letter, you have my special 
request to tender my resignation. I should consider myself insulted and 
disgraced to acknowledge that I ever belonged to a Board of Foreign 
Missions who were bound in honor by their constitution, or articles of 
agreement, to send a man forth as a missionary who insisted on using or 
on holding his slaves as his property. 

From the same. 

Boston, February 27, 1846. 

My deak Brother : I most cordially approve of the objects to which 
you have called my attention in your note of yesterday. Were I to follow 
my own personal convictions and inclinations, I should probably go far- 
ther in the practical illustration of Christian union than you are pre- 
pared to go. And yet I am so much of a practical man that I suppress 
some of my best feelings for the sake of not disturbing the peace of my 
own denomination. 

Having said so much, I confess to you that I have but little, or scarce- 
ly any, confidence in conventions for any object. I do not know, to be 
sure, that we can altogether do without them. But, after all, it is hu- 
miliating to hear men make eloquent speeches in favor of Christian 
union, and proclaiming that they have met together to attend the funeral 
of Bigotry, and yet, so soon as they return from this speech-making, and 
from this festive funeral, it would seem as if Bigotry had risen from her 
grave, and had followed those who buried her, home, whispering in their 
ears to be very chary of their attentions to ministers of the same town 
who differ from them, and not to know them in the streets, nor in com- 
pany, except by way of patronizing them for the evening, and at all 
events to save their speeches, and to do nothing towards promoting real 
union until the next great public meeting. 

If I am uncharitable in this judgment, the Lord forgive me. But all 
I have ever seen or experienced for the last forty years — save a few 
honorable exceptions — has contributed to produce these sad and discour- 



CHRISTIAN UNION. 233 

aging impressions. I grieve to have them ; but here they are in the 
raised letters of my memory, so that were I a pupil of the blind asylum 
I could read them by the touch of my fingers. 

I never was a bigot. My early training and religious associations and 
attachments kept me from the spirit of bigotry. I set out in my minis- 
terial career coveting and expecting Christian union. I have sincerely 
laid myself out for it, and have always made personal advances towards 
it, so far as I could consistently with the harmony of my own denomi- 
nation ; but, with a few exceptions, it has not yet come. I have heard 
of it at a distance, but I have not seen it and felt it to be near. If I 
have thought it had come to me in the warm, and frank, and living man- 
ifestations of a true-hearted charity from Christians of other sects, and 
have exclaimed, "It is good to be here," alas I the vision has soon de- 
parted, and I have found myself at the foot of the mount, surrounded 
by other beings than the " spirits of just men made perfect." Perhaps 
the fault; has been in me. It may be in something which, to other 
Christian sects, appears chilling and forbidding in our own denomination. 
The absence of Christian union prevails to a lamentable extent. Its 
causes, if traced, would fill a volume. Perhaps they could not be de- 
scribed with fearless honesty without giving offence, and widening 
breaches which already exist. 

What, then, can be done towards promoting Christian union among 
different sects? It would, perhaps, be difficult to say what would most 
speedily and effectively accomplish this blessed object. A public con- 
vention may do some good in placing this important subject before the 
world, but I should rely more on each Christian minister and on each 
church member carrying out the spirit of union in their intercourse 
with one another. Let there not only be kindness, and candor, and 
Catholicism in the speeches of a convention, but flowing out from the 
lips and in the actions of the ordinary and religious relations of differ- 
ent Christian sects. 

I need not confess to you that I hold Popery in detestation. It is a 
system of spiritual despotism and of gross superstition, keeping the 
great mass of the people under its sway in ignorance and in bondage, 
both of mind and heart, and causing, by its superstitions and puerilities, 
the educated classes in its communities to become infidels or atheists. 
Yet I would not league with other Christians to hold up even Popery to 
opprobrium and contempt. In so doing the Convention will awaken 
bad passions, but create no converts. It will strengthen the hands of 
Papists by creating in the friends of civil and of religious freedom a 
sympathy for them as a persecuted people. I believe that the warfare 
waged against the Catholics by the agents of the American Tract So- 
ciety and of the American Sunday School Union has done more to pro- 
mote Popery than to diminish it. I abhor bigotry in Protestants as 
much as I do in Catholics. 



234 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

I have written you with freedom, and shall love and respect'you none 
the less if you come to an entirely different judgment, on any or all of 
these subjects, from myself. 

Should you feel it your duty to go to the proposed Convention, any 
service that I can render to you or your people will be performed with 
the gratifying recollection of your great kindness in making my late 
and delightful visit to England so free from ministerial perplexity and 
care. 

I shall be happy to converse with you on this subject, or any other. 

To his brother-in-law, Deacon S. Partridge. 

Boston, September 1, 1846. 

On my return last evening from Barnstablej where I had been spend- 
ing a few days in public service, I found sister's letter of the 24th ult., 
communicating the expected but dreaded tidings. Our dear mother has 
closed her earthly mission ! Her spirit, emancipated from all evil, has 
joined the happy, holy throng on high. 

Though I was quite certain, before I read the letter, that it contained 
the painful announcement, and endeavored to fortify my mind against 
the shock, yet, as I passed down the first page to the last line, my feel- 
ings were completely overcome, and I could hardly command myself 
sufficiently to proceed with the subsequent detail of facts. 0, is it so? 
Has that dear, precious mother gone from us ? Are we really orphans ? 

I had a wakeful night. Her calm, sweet image was before me. I 
felt sure that if there is a single human soul in heaven, hers is there. 
Yes, and I felt that heaven was nearer and dearer to me than ever. 

that we may all be profited by this dispensation. We shall soon 
follow. Lord, prepare us for thy right hand. 

To Miss P. D. Nettleton. 

Boston, October 19, 1846. 

1 need not say that the decease of my precious mother was a severe 
affliction. You know the bitterness of that cup, and can appreciate my 
feelings. Though for two years I had expected the event, yet at last 
it came suddenly, and when I was hoping that I might again see her. 
But severe as is the affliction, it is alleviated by many considerations. 
She had finished her mission, and was both prepared and desirous to 
depart. Not a shade of doubt rests upon my mind in regard to her 
safety. She is in heaven. She is there with her husband, and two of 
her children, and she is with your mother, and with a host of the holy, 
redeemed by the blood of the cross. Heaven is now more attractive to 
me than ever. 



FKATEBNAL SYMPATHY. 235 

To Mrs. J. H. Partridge. 

Boston, August 20, 1847. 

I know not, my dear afflicted sister, how to write you, or how to pray 
for you, for I am ignorant of your present condition, whether you are 
a widow or the happy wife of a recovering husband. My mind is un- 
hinged, and yet I feel rebuked by the calmness and resignation which 
you so sweetly manifest. God has done great things for you, and as 
he is your covenant God he will do more. As your day, so shall your 
strength be. You remember what he did for our dear, dead mother 
when she was called to drink the bitter cup. How firm was her trust 
in the divine faithfulness ! how largely did she experience the support 
and succor of the divine arm ! 

My heart bleeds for you, and gladly would I hasten to your side, and 
share with you in all your sorrows ; but you have One infinitely better 
to sympathize with you, and whisper in your ear the words of comfort. 
He says, " I will be with thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will strength- 
en thee ; I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness ; " 
"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." 

My dear sister, you are on the Rock of Ages. There rest with your 
whole weight. It will bear up yourself, your family, your cares and 
burdens. 

To the same. 

Boston, September 3, 1847. 

Yours of various dates, containing the sorrowful intelligence of your 
and our loss, came to hand this morning. The information was not un- 
expected. Ever since the receipt of your letter, dated two weeks be- 
fore the last date of this, I have anticipated the result, and daily prayed 
for you as probably " a lone widow." And yet I was unprepared for 
the tidings. That black seal sent a pang to my heart; and, as I walked 
home from the post-office, I felt oppressed by a burden that well nigh 
crushed me to the ground. 

My nervous system has been for two weeks in a shattered state, and I 
am now too much agitated to write as my feelings would prompt me. I 
cannot take that religious view of the dispensation with which you 
seem to be favored. My mind is perturbed, and I cannot pray with 
anything like Christian composure. 

Of one thing you may be certain. Our hearts bleed with sympathy 
for you and your children, and we long to know how, after the lapse of 
a few days, you bear up under the pressure. By this time you see and 
feel the vacancy in your circle ; but we are sure that He who has thus 
far sustained you will be faithful to help you entirely through the deep 
waters. Lean with your whole weight on the omnipotent arm. 



236 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

How sweet the thought that he whom we loved sq well is now safe 
at home, free from all evil, and perfectly happy forever ! He is with our 
dear parents and brother. That group is increasing in numbers. Who 
will be the next to join it? Are we all ready to depart and be with 
Christ? 

After Dr. Stow sent in his resignation as pastor of the 
Baldwin Place Church, an effort was made on the part of both 
the church and society to induce him to recall his letter. 
The following is the communication sent to him by the church. 
It shows how deep and strong was the affection cherished for 
him, who for so many years had labored for their spiritual 
welfare. 

Boston, May 25, 1848. 

Dear Brother : Would that we could still address you 
by the endeared title of pastor ! But by an act of yours dic- 
tated by a sense of duty, we are deprived of this privilege, 
which we have so many years enjoyed. 

The copy of the letter addressed by you to the Baldwin 
Place Church and Society, resigning your pastoral office, was 
submitted to the church on Tuesday evening ; and the under- 
signed were appointed a committee to express the earnest 
desire of the church that you would reconsider the step you 
have taken, and, if possible, recall your resignation. 

The duty with which we are charged is one which we 
cheerfully undertake, and we would fain hope to meet with suc- 
cess. We are fully aware that your resignation is the result 
of mature deliberation, and is intended to be positive and 
peremptory; and it is on this account that we approach the 
subject with unfeigned delicacy. We do not design to in- 
terfere with your convictions of duty. We would not urge 
our request so far as to tempt you to swerve from the path 
which God shall open before you. Your conscience we will 
leave free and untrammelled, and will simply lay before you 
such considerations as may possibly have sufficient weight 
as to lead you to change your views as to what may be duty. 

You say in your communication, that " during the last four 



EARNEST PLEADINGS OF HIS CHURCH. 237 

months, other considerations, of a very emphatic kind, have 
contributed, with my impaired health, to settle my convic- 
tions that my continuance as your pastor is incompatible 
with both my usefulness and happiness." You well know 
— for your eyes beheld the gush of feeling which this an- 
nouncement produced upon the congregation — we simply 
state the truth when we say that we have no recollection of 
any occasion on which such intense and painful emotions 
were produced on the congregation as were caused by the 
reading of that paragraph. We would have wept in silence, 
and have been resigned to the will of God, had the fact of 
your impaired health alone rendered the step you have taken 
necessary ; but, dear pastor, — for we must still call you by that 
endeared name, — we cannot be resigned to such a separation. 
That the time has arrived when your happiness renders your 
removal from the Baldwin Place Church necessary, is too 
much for us to admit. 

When we recollect the years of labor which you have de- 
voted to us, " toiling in season and out of season," in the 
pulpit, in the sick chamber, by the bedside of the dying, and 
with the mourning group, performing every duty with faithful- 
ness and assiduity, and a most untiring zeal, we feel that we 
have been a people favored of God. If warnings have been 
needed, you have not hesitated to warn and admonish in 
faithfulness ; if encouragement has been necessary, you have 
delighted to impart it ; and if afflictions have visited us, how 
many can testify, as you have sat by their bedsides, ad- 
ministering the cheering consolations of the gospel, or as you 
have made one of our little mourning groups over the coffin 
of some dear one, mingling your tears with ours, that you 
have been as ready to sympatliize with us in our afflictions 
as to rejoice in our prosperity ! What people have been more 
blessed with a faithful and devoted pastor? And now, as 
the accumulated labors of years have borne you down under 
their crushing weight, and we see you fainting and exhausted 
from incessant toil, how can we help feeling for you ? When 
our pastor suffers, his people suffer. They feel that they are 



238 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

one with him ; and as he has been a strong pillar in the day 
of his strength, so, in the day of his trial, will they be to him 
a source of comfort and support. 

We accept the pledge of unabated attachment which you 
have given us in your communication, and in return we 
tender you the pledge of our unwavering attachment and 
undiminished confidence ; and whatever else may befall you, 
be assured that never shall the faithful and devoted pastor, 
in the day of his affliction, be forgotten by a grateful and 
affectionate people. 

May we not hope that, after re-deliberation on this sub- 
ject, you may find the path of duty plain for you to recall 
your resignation ? 

In behalf of the church, 

Samuel Beal, 
John C. Pratt. 

We shall have occasion hereafter to see that Dr. Stow 
never ceased to feel and manifest the liveliest interest in the 
fortunes of the Baldwin Place Church. In all its spiritual 
prosperity he rejoiced, and as the dark days, which he foresaw 
must inevitably come in its history, cast their shadows over 
the religious society for which he had labored for so many 
years, he sympathized with his brethren, and gave them the 
benefit of his wise counsel. And when the church started out 
in its new career, and pitched its tabernacle in another sec- 
tion of the city, no one bade it a warmer " God speed " than 
did their old and well-beloved pastor. 

Passing over the events of the next three months, we come 
to a record in Dr. S tow's journal, under date of October 5, in 
which he tells us that on the morning of that day he received 
a call from a committee of the Pierrepont Street Church in 
Brooklyn, N. Y., who were the bearers of a unanimous invita- 
tion to him to become the pastor of that church. For reasons 
which we shall presently understand, he declined the call. 
A few days after the committee from Brooklyn waited upon 
him, another committee, representing the Rowe Street 



ACCEPTS THE CALL TO EOWE STREET. 239 

Church and Society, visited him, as the bearers of a call from 
this church to become their pastor. This was the third call 
which he had received since the opening of the year, the first 
having been extended to* him by the Jamaica Plain Church. 
His feelings with reference to the last two he has thus ex- 



October 12. I am oppressed by a heavy burden of responsibility. I 
wish to do right — just that which will please God. How can I best as- 
certain his will ? His Book supplies principles, and his providence gives 
indications. How shall I interpret them in reference to my own case? 
How can I get light but by prayer? Will not God hear the cry of his 
servant, and illume the path of duty? This afternoon, had an inter- 
view with Dr. Sharp, and received from him expressions of kindness 
and friendly opinions, which were a balm to my aching heart. How 
valuable is such a counsellor ! May I never prove myself unworthy of 
his friendship. 

October 16. In regard to one of the situations offered me, I have 
decided. Both are very desirable as fields for useful labor. Both propose 
the same salary. But the reasons for my continuance in Boston seem 
greatly to overbalance all others, and I have accordingly declined in a 
letter of this date the invitation from Brooklyn. 

October 19. Delivered to the Hon. Heman Lincoln, chairman of the 
committee of the Rowe Street Church and Society, my reply, accepting 
their invitation. I trust my decision has the approval of the Head of 
the church. My anticipations of success are not very sanguine ; yet, 
having weighed well the whole subject, and received the advice of the 
most judicious counsellors, I feel satisfied with my decision, and hope 
for the best results. To God I commit myself, praying for his blessing. 

The transfer of Dr. Stow from the Baldwin Place Church 
to Rowe Street was a removal to a scene of ministerial labor 
for which he was admirably adapted, and in which he found 
himself surrounded by old and loving friends. He was 'still 
to remain in the city to which he was so much attached, and 
in which he had given to the cause of Christ the prime of 
his years and the best efforts of his mind and heart. The in- 
fluence which he had acquired on account of the prominent 
position he had occupied, which had led to his being held in 
so much respect and affection by his brethren in the ministry 
all over New England, he was not only to retain, but very 



240 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

greatly strengthen. His valuable experience as a wise coun- 
sellor and manager of the affairs of the Missionary Union 
was still to be felt at the seat of its operations. The ties by 
which he had bound himself to a variety of causes and insti- 
tutions were to remain unbroken. There was a general re- 
joicing that Boston was still to be the home of Dr. Stow, and 
that in the city of his adoption he was to continue as an am- 
bassador of Christ. Easily and naturally he fell into the 
sphere which God had evidently marked out for him, and at 
once girded himself afresh to the work which a gracious 
Providence had assigned to him. 

A few extracts from his journal will introduce our readers 
to Dr. Stow at the commencement of his ministry in Rowe 
Street. The peculiarities of his character are at once revealed 
to us — his love of order, his regard for special anniversary 
days, his intense desire to secure the cooperation of the church 
in the promotion of the work upon which he had entered, and 
his earnest longing for the spiritual prosperity of the people 
over whom the Saviour had placed him as a watchman. 

October 24. Twenty-one years ago to-day I was ordained to the 
work of the ministry. Sixteen years ago this evening I resigned as pas- 
tor of the church in Portsmouth. This evening I take my letter of dis- 
mission from the Baldwin Place Church, for the purpose of joining the 
Rowe Street. Read portions of Upham's Life of Madame Guyon. 
She was doubtless a very sincere woman, but her piety does not seem 
to have much solidity. It is quite too fanciful in its principles, and too 
mystical in its spirit. It professes to deal too directly with God, and 
makes too little of the Bible, and too little of the mediation of Christ. 
It is Quietism sublimated. One page of good Robert Leighton is worth 
more than the whole of these two volumes. 

October 25. This has been a day of noise and confusion without. 
The water has been introduced by the new aqueduct from Cochituate 
Lake, in Framingham, and the occasion has been celebrated with great 
pomp and ceremony. I have kept close at home, and written a sermon 
upon Romans xv. 29. God has been with me, and I have enjoyed more 
than in any day for many months. So far as I can learn, my decision 
to remain in Boston is generally approved. Many of my late flock have 
expressed the most earnest satisfaction. 

December 12. This evening the church met by special invitation 
from the pastor. Though the weather was very threatening, the attend- 



JOURNAL. 241 

ance was liberal. I occupied nearly the whole evening in a Statement 
of my own views and feelings with respect to the conversion of sinners, 
and an expression of my wishes as to the cooperation of the individual 
members. May God bless the effort to some good end. 

January 1, 1849. My soul burns with desire for the conversion of 
souls. "Will not God appear for us, and by his Holy Spirit awaken the 
dead in sin ? May we not experience the reviving power operating on 
all hearts, and causing many to rejoice in God's salvation? 

March 1. Morning. This day has been set apart by several pastors 
and others as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, with special ref- 
erence to the low state of religion in our churches. The meetings are 
to be held in Bowdoin Square. O that our hearts may be broken before 
God, and that we may pray for the Holy Spirit with a deep sense of our 
need, and faith in the divine promises ! Lord, I would not think of the 
sins of others, but of my own sins. I would myself be humble and 
penitent before thee. I would forgive all others, as I hope to be for- 
given by thee. At ten and a half, met, with a large number of ministers 
and others, in the vestry of Bowdoin Square Church. The place was 
crowded. There seemed to be considerable feeling, but it lacked con- 
centration. The prayers and exhortations were long and discursive. 
O, why not all bow together before the throne, and ask for the Holy" 
Spirit? 

March 8. A brother called to inform me of the effect of some of my 
remarks at the monthly concert last Sabbath evening. He confessed 
he had not contributed to foreign missions according to his ability, and 
said he had made up his mind to give five hundred dollars immediately 
to that object. A brother from Philadelphia was present on Sabbath 
evening. He called at the Mission Rooms to-day, and said he had decided 
to add a hundred dollars to his annual contribution. 

May 27. Preached twice ; baptized six young persons. The morn- 
ing service had a full attendance, and the audience seemed to be deeply 
affected by the services. I pray the impression may be permanent, and 
Christ may multiply among us the trophies of his grace. 

June 30. I have had some sweet reflections while preparing a dis- 
course from Matt. xi. 28 — " Come unto me," &c. I have several times 
preached from these precious words, and in each instance have prepared 
a new sermon. I have also had more enjoyment in prayer than usual. 
God has seemed near, and I could speak to him with freedom and fa- 
miliarity. When we have the spirit of adoption, and can cry, " Abba, 
Father," how easy, how refreshing is prayer ! 

August 21. Four were received into the church by letter, and two as 
candidates for baptism, last evening, thus making fifty additions since 
my settlement. 

16 



242 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

September 22. How delightful to see those who profess to be con- 
verted under my ministry get safely through, leaving no stain upon 
their profession ! I hope to meet many such in heaven. The Lord in 
mercy give me more, as the seals of my ministry. 

October 14. A very pleasant Sabbath. Preached twice to a full 
house, and attended the evening prayer meeting, which Was unusually 
full and interesting. O that the Spirit of God might descend upon this 
people, and work in them the needed changes ! How utterly impotent 
am I ! The din of the world drowns my voice, and I am like an insect 
buzzing among thunders. 

These extracts, and many others like them scattered 
through the journal of Dr. Stow which covers the period 
now under review, bring him to our notice as the anxious 
pastor of the flock over which he had been set by the 
Great Shepherd. How he longs for the prosperity of Zion ! 
With what joy he hails every token of the divine pres- 
ence, and with what sadness he marks every indication of 
the departure of the Holy Spirit from his church ! Above 
alh, how he examines his own heart with a scrutiny bor- 
dering almost, at times, on the morbid, lest he, by positive 
sin, or by wicked neglect of duty, may have driven the 
heavenly Comforter away! And the history of the months 
of toil shows that a continual blessing followed his faithful 
labors. The church, if it did not come up to his ideal 
standard, was, nevertheless, greatly quickened. Souls were 
converted. The worship of the sanctuary was invested 
with new charms, and no one who came within the sacred 
influence could fail to notice the signs of the presence of 
Him who is ever to be worshipped " in spirit and in truth." 



CHALMERS. 243 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Chalmers's Memoir. — Inner Life. — A Harvest Year. — The 
Spiritual Physician. — Record of twenty-five Years. — Death 
of Dr. Sharp. — "First Things." — Call to Brookline. — Let- 
ter to the Executive Committee of the Missionary Union. — 
Record of the Year. 

1850-1855. 

If we do not dwell, in minute detail, on the events which 
occurred during the first two or three years of Dr. Stow's 
ministry at Rowe Street, it is not because these events are 
wanting in interest, but because there is so great a uniformity 
in their occurrence, that the experience of one week, or one 
month, is nearly like that of every week, and every month. 
He loves his work, and delights in the round of ministerial 
and pastoral labor, which he is called to perform, more than 
in anything else. "I have not the ambition," he writes, 
"I once had to appear on the platform, and address large, 
promiscuous assemblies. The pulpit, the prayer meeting, and 
pastoral visitation comprise my field of sympathy and labor." 
Under date of November 12, 1850, he makes an interesting 
record of the effect produced on his mind by the perusal of 
Dr. Hanna's Life of Dr. Chalmers. 

November 12. Read in Chalmers's Life this morning that part which 
relates to the great change in his views of the plan of salvation. His 
private journal gives a clear view of the process. Struck with the in- 
fluence certain books had in the direction of his mind, such as Wilber- 
force's Practical View, Scott's Force of Truth, and Hannah More's 
Practical Piety. Interested to see how his theology, after his change, 
corresponded with that which I have for years been preaching — Christ 
crucified, the foundation, and faith in him, as indispensable to pardon 
and practical holiness. O that Calvary may ever be the position from 
which I shall study, preach, pray, and engage in every good work ! 



244 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

November 27. Read in Chalmers's Life. More and more pleased with 
the evangelical spirit of that great and good man. I like exceedingly 
his views of Christ as the only ground of a sinner's trust for acceptance 
with God. I am delighted also to see how little he was injured by his 
popularity. How different his case from that of his countryman, 
Edward Irving! Grace made the difference. 

November 28. Read in volume second of Chalmers's Life. Much is 
said of his laboriousness and his eloquence, but little of the conver- 
sion of souls under his ministry. These great men render other ser- 
vice to the cause of Christianity, but they are too popular to be directly 
useful in awakening sinners and leading them to Christ. 

At a later date he gives us an insight into his inner life, 
which might lead us to question whether the views which he 
would probably advaoce, if he were preaching a sermon on 
"progressive sanctification," would be corroborated by his 
own experience. What shall be said of such a record as the 
following? Payson and other eminently holy men have 
expressed themselves in the same way. Can we ascribe 
these feelings to nervous depression? Shall we conclude 
that they who have them are less loved by Him who " pitieth 
them that fear him " ? Will our readers who believe in the 
"higher life" confidently assert that a simpler faith in Christ 
would have lifted him up to that loftier plane on which it was 
his privilege, as it is that of every Christian, to stand? We 
will not speculate, but let Dr. Stow speak for himself. 

May 27, 1851. Read a portion of my diary for 1838. I do not feel as 
I did then. I fear I have deteriorated in my piety. I never had much — 
it seems now as if I had less than ever. I have not a lively sense of 
divine things. I have very little of the spirit of prayer. I am not so 
much concerned for souls as formerly. I do not so deeply realize my 
responsibilities as a Christian and a minister of the gospel. I am more 
sluggish in my affections, and less energetic in my efforts. God, help 
me, by thy Spirit, to examine my case, and review the process by which 
I have so greatly declined.. I know that my mind has been too much 
distracted by a diversity of objects, many of which are extraneous to my 
particular charge. I am connected with too many boards and com- 
mittees. My time is cut up into fragments, and I am driven rapidly 
from one thing to another, so that I do nothing well, and have little 
fixedness of attention to my one paramount class of duties. I do not 
read the Scriptures, or meditate, or pray so much as I ought; I do not 



LAMENTS OVER SPIRITUAL DECLENSION. 245 

live for eternity as I should ; consequently I am backslidden in heart. 
O that I might realize my condition and my danger ! I am vile in the 
sight of God. May I see more of my own vileness, and abhor it, and so 
repent as to secure forgiveness. My public services, as well as my 
private devotions, lack spirituality. O God, grant me thy grace. With- 
out thy Spirit to work in me, I shall decline more and more. Lord, 
help me now to repent and turn to thee with my whole heart. 

In the journal and letters of Dr. Stow the readers of this 
Memoir will find many a record like this, as the years pass 
away. There is an expression of deep regret that the reli- 
gious sensibilities seem to be growing more dull, the percep- 
tion of divine things less clear and less sharply defined. 
While in the earlier stages of Christian experience, it was 
anticipated that the maturer life of the disciple of Jesus 
would be marked by greater delicacy, and a more distinct 
consciousness of glowing emotion and pious feeling, the Chris- 
tian finds that his real experience does not corresj^ond with 
his cherished expectations. No man has traced with more 
accuracy the philosophy of these phases in the life of a Chris- 
tian than Bishop Butler. " From our very faculty of habits," 
he remarks, "passive impressions, by being repeated, grow 
weaker. Thoughts, by often passing through the mind, are 
felt less sensibly : being accustomed to danger, begets in- 
trepidity, i. e., lessens fear ; to distress, lessens the passion 
of pity; to instances of mortality, lessens the sensible appre- 
hension of our own. And from these two observations to- 
gether, that practical habits are formed and strengthened by 
repeated acts, and that passive impressions grow weaker by 
being repeated upon us, it must follow that active habits 
may be gradually forming and strengthening by a course of 
acting upon such and such motives and excitements, whilst 
these motives and excitements themselves are, by propor- 
tionable degrees, growing less sensible, i. e., are continually 
less and less sensibly felt, even as the active habits strength- 
en." In these remarks of Butler there is matter for profound 
thought. Had they been carefully considered by the subject 
of these Memoirs, he might have found in the busy activity 



246 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

of the life which he was now living a sufficient . reason for 
what he regarded as the deadening of his religious sensibili- 
ties. While his active habits were strengthening, and he 
was conscientiously working in such fields of labor as his 
Master opened to him, the passive impressions, the kind of 
emotions, which were awakened in his heart in the earlier days 
of his ministry, he was not conscious of feeling in their origi- 
nal force. That the great principles by which a minister of 
Christ should be governed in doing his work, were becoming 
constantly rooted in his very nature, no one can doubt ; and 
if he complained because he detected the absence of the 
warmth and earnestness which characterized the first years 
of his professional life, he complained of that, the existence 
of which could be accounted for by the workings of a law as 
certain in its operation as the law of gravity. A record in 
his journal of December 27, 1851, exhibits so clearly what 
we think should be the spirit with which the servant of the 
Lord should engage in the great work to which he is called, 
that we cannot forbear to quote it. 

A Sabbath school teacher called to inquire how she could be the most 
useful to her class. I could tell her only three ways : — 

First. Plainly, tenderly, earnestly exhibit the whole truth. 

Second. Sustain your teaching by a corresponding spirit and manner 
of life. 

Third. Commit the whole case to God, and pray fervently, per- 
severingly, and with faith, for his blessing. 

Deep as may be our anxiety for sinners, there are limitations to our 
responsibility. When we have done all we can, it is both pious and 
wise to submit the whole to the sovereign wisdom and grace of God. 
O, let me ever lie low at God's feet, and while I petition and plead, still 
submit, adore, and trust. God of mercy, the souls of my people are 
dear to me ; but how much dearer are they to thee ! How much hast 
thou loved them ! how much hast thou done for them ! Though I am 
grieved at their impenitence and hardness of heart, yet may I not be 
impatient towards thee. My theory is, None but God can convert a sin- 
gle soul ; let me conform my practice to the theory ; let me look to God 
for help, and rely entirely on his power. O that I might do this from 
the heart. 



CALLS FEOM INQUIEEES. 247 

The year 1852 was a harvest year. A quiet work of grace 
commenced at the beginning of the year, the blessed fruits of 
which kept developing as the months passed away. Of his 
method of dealing with anxious souls we give the following 
illustrations : — 

March 1. At twelve M. a young lady called, borne down under a 
heavy burden of conscious guilt, seeming to need nothing but the direc- 
tion given to the jailer, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved." I presented before her Christ as a Saviour of sinners, 
and submitted the question, "Will you now renounce the world and 
sin, and consecrate yourself to Christ, depending on him for acceptance 
with God, and serving him while life lasts ? " She reflected a moment, 
then burst into tears, and said, " I will ; I have done it ! Christ is mine, 
and I am his ! " O, what a thrill shot through my soul ! I felt that 
Christ was near, receiving a new-born soul. Her countenance bright- 
ened. " O, what a change ! " she said ; " my burden is gone : twenty -five 
years I have lived in sin. How could I have so treated God ? I deserve 
his displeasure ; but Christ has accepted me. I will endeavor to be a 
faithful Christian." I conversed further with her, and prayed with her, 
and she left me, calm, peaceful, hopeful. How can I doubt the power 
and presence of the Holy Spirit? 

In the afternoon a young lady, Miss S., called, heavily burdened with 
a sense of guilt, earnestly inquiring what she must do to inherit eternal 
life. She is from Somersetshire, England. She seemed to have no idea 
of the gospel plan of salvation. She supposed she had many things to 
do in order to be good, and such things as would require time. I ex- 
plained to her as clearly as I could the method of grace ; but she was 
slow to believe that Christ would accept her until she should become 
" better." Though apparently intelligent, she was deplorably ignorant. 
When informed of the simple requirement, "to believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ," she inquired with earnestness, "Is that all? Have I 
nothing to do ? " For nearly an hour and a half I kept the Saviour 
before her mind as her only refuge, and had the pleasure of seeing her 
mind gradually receiving the truth. Her errors, one after another, 
yielded, till at last the question was pressed, " Will you now give up all 
idea of helping yourself, and cast your guilty soul on Christ, and trust 
in him for salvation?" Then she hesitated. "Is not Christ able to 
save you? " " Yes, I believe he is." " Well, is he not willing ?" She 
was doubtful. "How can he be willing to save me as I am — O, such a 
sinner? " The struggle was long and hard. I prayed with her, and when 
I had concluded, she did not rise, but for some minutes continued kneel- 
ing and weeping. When she rose she proposed seeing me again to-morrow 



248 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

or Monday. I inquired if she was sure the Holy Spirit would continue 
with her if she postponed her decision. This was a new thought. She 
sat down overpowered. I presented Christ once more, and explained 
again, with all possible simplicity, the way of a sinner's acceptance. It 
was easy to see her soul was letting go its hold on everything else, and 
coming to him as her only hope. The Saviour seemed near. My spirit 
yearned over her case. Mrs. H., who came with her, was melted. It 
was a moment of inexpressible solemnity and tenderness. The decision 
was soon made. " I will trust Christ; I will be his; I will serve him 
all my days. Is it possible salvation is so free ! " The process was to 
me very exhausting — all my faculties and feelings were enlisted. I 
hope well for the result. Time will prove its character. 

March 15. This evening met the converts' class. Though the weather 
was unpleasant, yet fifty-six were present. The young lady who called 
upon me was one of the number, rejoicing in Christ. O. never can I 
forget the agony of soul in leading her to the cross. " Travailing in 
birth " is the apostle's figure, and eminently expressive. 

How do such scenes as these reveal to us the workings of 
the Holy Spirit, as witnessed not merely in those brought 
under the power of converting grace, but as operating on the 
mind and in the heart of one set apart to the solemn work 
of leading men to Christ ! We look into that pastor's study, 
as we would look into the surgeon's office, to observe the 
processes by which they who seem to be hastening down to 
the gates of death are brought to the portals of everlasting 
life. The anxieties in either case are not unlike, and the 
strain on all the best faculties of our nature are not dis- 
similar. The responsibilities in either case are great beyond 
our power to estimate. If we admire the calm earnestness, 
the kindness combined with firmness, the fidelity which does 
not shrink to give pain if needed, which mark the one case, 
why may we not admire precisely the same qualities as seen 
in the other case ? The physician who deals with precious 
souls occupies a position of higher dignity, of moral grandeur 
loftier than that on which he stands whose regards are 
limited to the wants of the perishing body. 

The twenty-fifth anniversary of Dr. Stow's ordination 
occurred on the 24th of October, 1852. He makes a few 
memoranda of what, by the grace of God, he has been ena- 



REVIEW OF A QUARTER CENTURY. 249 

bled to do during the quarter of a century. Into the three 
churches of which he has had the pastoral charge there had 
been received twelve hundred and sixty-five members, of 
which number he had himself baptized eight hundred and 
thirty-five. He had married six hundred and eighty-nine 
couples, and attended nine hundred and sixty-two funerals, 
and made sixteen thousand pastoral visits. During this 
period of his ministry he had preached three thousand one 
hundred and eighty-four sermons, of which six were at the 
recognition of new churches, eleven at the dedication of 
places of worship, forty-four at the ordination and installa- 
tion of ministers, sixty-three before conventions and associa- 
tions, charitable societies, &c, &c. "Goodness and mercy 
have followed me all these years. I have suffered some, have 
enjoyed much, have worked hard, but might have worked 
better. God has been faithful. His promises have never 
failed. I cannot expect to labor, or even live, another quar- 
ter of a century. O that henceforth I may live better, pray 
more, and maintain * a closer walk with God ! ' " 

It pains us that the limits within which we must compress 
this volume compel us to omit so many things which we find 
in his journal, the perusal of which could not fail to be full 
of both interest and profit to the reader. Now and then we 
get sweet, charming glimpses of Dr. Stow's domestic life, and 
they open to our view a nature rich in gifts which make 
home so full of quiet joy and peace. Take the following, 
under date of June 16, 1853, the fifty-second anniversary of 
his birth : — 

At twilight this evening I sat down with my dear E., and we com- 
menced a review of the past. I forgot my studies and cares as we went 
back to the old homesteads and scenes of our early childhood, and con- 
versed of dear places and dearer friends, parents, brothers, sisters, 
schools, meetings, ministers, &c. O, how fresh, how vivid, how tender 
were the recollections ! Thus we lingered about the loved of departed 
years until the hour of family prayer. We both concluded we had 
been especially the children of Providence. How wonderfully God has 
led us these more than fifty years ! We had our offering to lay upon our 
evening altar — a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Accept it, O God, 



250 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

for thy dear Son's sake. For his sake accept us, and make us ever, 
ever thine. 

Allusion Las been made to the warm friendship which 
existed between Dr. Sharp and Dr. Stow. The former had 
for many years been the senior in age and settlement among 
the pastors of the Baptist churches in Boston. As such he 
was held in the highest esteem by all his brethren in the min- 
istry. They were accustomed to respect his judgment, and 
to go to him for advice. When he was removed by death, 
a vacancy was made in the ministerial ranks which was keen- 
ly felt, especially by those who had labored by his side for 
so many years. The record which Dr. Stow made of the 
event is found in the following extract from his journal : — 

June 24. Sad, sad news. Dr. Sharp died last evening at Baltimore. 
I have, by request, just written some resolutions to be laid this evening 
before the bereaved church and society. The Lord support the deeply- 
afflicted family. The Lord sanctify this event to his ministers. I am 
now the oldest Baptist pastor in the two Boston associations. 

June 28. To-day the funeral services connected with the interment 
of Dr. Sharp were attended in Charles Street Church. A few friends 
were invited to meet the family at his late residence, 20 West Cedar 
Street, when prayer was offered by Kev. Dr. Neale. At church the ser- 
vices were as follows : — 

Invocation by Rev. Dr. Gannett. Eeading Scriptures by Rev. Dr. 
Neale. Hymn read by Rev. Dr. J. Wayland. Sermon by Rev. Dr. 
Francis Wayland, Acts viii. 2. Hymn read by Rev. Dr. Blagden. 
Prayer by Rev. Baron Stow. Hymn read by Rev. William Howe. 
Benediction by Rev. Dr. J. W. Parker. An immense procession of 
carriages followed the body to Mount Auburn, where prayer was offered 
by Baron Stow. I was absent from my house seven hours, so pro- 
tracted were all the services. Returned much oppressed in spirit. 

We give further extracts, referring to events in which Dr. 
Stow was interested, some of which will be recalled by many 
of the readers of this Memoir. 

October 7. " Heaven is attracting towards itself all the good and 
lovely of earth." How true, gloriously true ! Last night the Hon. Simon 
Greenleaf, of Cambridge, suddenly entered into his rest, aged seventy 
years. He was a member of the executive committee of the Ameri- 



"first things." 251 

can Tract Society, Boston, in the meetings of which I often met him. 
He was a man of great simplicity and purity, eminently a godly man. 
For many years an Episcopalian, he became dissatisfied with the Pusey- 
istic tendencies of his church, and withdrew, and joined the Orthodox 
Congregationalists. He loved the doctrine of grace ; he loved the whole 
Christian brotherhood. He is now "present with the Lord." Thus. 
Christ is taking home his disciples, according to his promise. Will he 
take me to that blessed home? Have I a valid hope of heaven? Lord, 
teach me what I am. Let me not be deceived. Prepare me to dwell 
with thee in glory. 

January 8, 185L Commenced a series of Sabbath morning discourses 
on "First Things in the Christian Church." To-day was "The First 
Prayer Meeting." Acts i. 12, 14. Had a full house and good attention. 

The discourses here referred to, together with several oth- 
ers of a similar character, were published, several years after 
they were delivered, under the title of First Things, or the 
Development of Church Life, and were favorably received 
as a valuable contribution to Christian literature. 

February 19. During the past week I have had the pleasure of lead- 
ing to Christ a granddaughter of the late Rev. Abel Woods, who, in 
the winter of 1821-22, sought me out, and opened the way for me to go 
to Columbian College for my education. I have ever remembered him 
with gratitude. Little did I think, after thirty-two years, I should have 
an opportunity to render a service to one of his posterity. " God works 
in a mysterious way." 

April 23. In the evening heard Rev. Dr. Duff, missionary of the 
Scottish Free Church in Bengal, at the Tremont Temple. His sermon 
was one hour and three quarters in length. Like most Scotch preach- 
ers, he was very wordy and repetitious ; but evidently he is a very strong, 
earnest man. His heart is in the work of missions. I should have 
liked his discourse better if he had made fewer apologies for his plain- 
ness. A minister should say nothing but what he has a right to say, 
and, having said it, he should let it cut with its full force. The ambas- 
sador is responsible for nothing but the right delivery of his message. 
He speaks for his superior. 

May 27. The city is disturbed by the arrest of a slave under the 
fugitive slave law. In a riot last night at the Court House one man 
was killed. There is danger of further violence. 

June 2. This has been anniversary week in Boston. Having much 
to occupy me, I have attended but few of the meetings. The excite- 
ment about the fugitive slave, Anthony Burns, a Baptist brother, has 



252 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

been great, and often alarming. To-day he has been carried off by 
the United States authorities. A division of Massachusetts (fifteen 
hundred) troops was on duty to preserve the peace. So, in obedience 
to a most infamous law, we are obliged to look on and see humanity 
outraged. It will not always be so. The blood in my heart has 
boiled with emotion, and I have been compelled to repress my feelings. 
I hope never to witness another such scene. 

October 30. This morning attended the ministers' meeting, which 
is held weekly in one of the rooms of the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation, Tremont Temple. Owing to the prostration of my physical 
system which I feel on Monday, I seldom attend these meetings ; but 
to-day I made an extra effort to be there to plead for city missions, 
which was the appointed subject for consideration. A good impres- 
sion, I think, was made upon some minds as to the duty of preaching 
the gospel to the poor and neglected. But I was pained not a little 
to hear some remarks bearing unkindly upon another denomination, 
that is doing a hundred fold more than the Baptists for the spiritual 
good of "the perishing classes." O, how narrow, how unchristian! 

November 2. A committee from the Brookline church and society 
called on me, and tendered their unanimous invitation to me to be- 
come their pastor, with a salary of two thousand dollars. The com- 
mittee were very courteous, but very urgent, and seemed to suppose 
that they could make out a strong case for me as well as for them- 
selves. I now have the subject before me. The question is a grave 
one, and must not be decided without calm and prayerful deliberation. 
I have labored six years in this field, and twenty-two in Boston. Still 
I do not see that the time for me to withdraw from the city has come. 
Brookline presents an eligible place for my retirement. But can I 
consult my own ease ? My inquiry must be for the will of my Master. 
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? " I am not my own, but thine. 
Show me what will please thee, and give me grace to do it. 

November 14. Wrote my reply to the Brookline invitation. There 
were reasons why I should regard their propositions with favor, but 
stronger reasons why I should decline it, and my answer was negative. 
I am on the altar in Rowe Street, and there must remain until God 
shows me clearly that he would have me remove. 

He writes in his journal, June 4, "Information having 
reached me of the circumstances under which I was re-elected 
as a member of the executive committee of the Missionary 
Union, I have decided I cannot, consistently with self-respect, 
accept the appointment. Accordingly I have to-day sent in 
the following letter : " — 



PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS. 253 

To the Executive Committee of the American Baptist 
Missionary Union. 

Dear Brethren : My interest in the cause of foreign mis- 
sions is coeval with my conversion to Christ. For more than 
thirty-six years that enterprise has had a prominent place in 
my thoughts, my prayers, and my labors ; and if I have not 
given proof of a cordial and earnest devotedness to its ad- 
vancement, it is because I have been incapable of furnishing 
such proof. I have applied to it heart, time, money, and 
toil, and know not that my sincerity has ever been ques- 
tioned. 

In April, 1832, I was elected a member of the board of the 
General Convention, and, on my removal to Boston, the same 
year, I took my seat, and commenced labor with honored 
brethren, only one of whom is now of your number. In 1835 
I was elected, by the Convention, one of its corresponding 
secretaries. By declining that appointment, my place in 
the board was temporarily alienated. The same office was 
unanimously tendered to me by the acting board in 1841, 
and for the same reasons that influenced my former decision, 
was again declined. After the death of Professor Knowles, 
in 1838, 1 was for eight years the recording secretary of the 
board. 

Thus, from November, 1832, to the present time, with the 
exception above named, I have served the Convention and 
the Union as a gratuitous laborer at the Missionary Rooms. 
How I have served them, a few now surviving, and many 
gone home to their reward, have been witnesses. The history 
of many labors cannot be written by human hand. "My 
record is on high," unrequited by man, often misjudged and 
misrepresented. I have toiled on, calmly, relying upon the 
assurance, " Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection 
of the just." 

The time has now arrived for me to retire from the position 
which I have so long held, and allow you to supply the va- 
cancy with some one who may have the confidence of those 



254 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

fi'om whom you have received your appointment. The re- 
cent election, if I am correctly informed respecting its detail, 
was too significant in some of its aspects to leave me any 
honorable alternative but to refuse a trust which, for the 
first time in twenty-three years, has been grudgingly con- 
ferred. With my self-respect- undamaged, I now embrace the 
opportunity to give myself wholly to the spiritual care of a 
people, who, no less than their pastor, have supplied the evi- 
dence of substantial interest in foreign missions. 

You may be assured, dear brethren, that my attachment to 
the enterprise which you have in charge will not be dimin- 
ished by this severance of my official connection. It is an 
element of my Christian life, and lies too deep to be unfavora- 
bly affected by any injustice of which I have been, or may be, 
the victim. 

In parting from you, I am happy to testify to the uniform 
kindness and courtesy with which I have been treated by all 
my associates in both the acting board and the executive 
committee. I think I have had their confidence, as they 
certainly have had mine. 

It has been my misfortune occasionally to differ from the 
opinions and policy of the foreign secretary"; but you are 
witnesses that I have never opposed him in a captious or 
persistent spirit. And it is due to him that I should here 
say, that his bearing towards me personally has, without ex- 
ception, been that of a gentleman and a Christian. 
With affectionate esteem, 

Tour brother in Christ, 

Baeox Stow. 

Boston, June 4, 1855. I am now relieved of a heavy burden. Un- 
pleasant as are some of the circumstances, I rejoice in the opportu- 
nity afforded me of turning my whole force to my one field. I desire 
no other work; there is none better. Studying, preaching, praying, 
visiting, — be these my employment during my few remaining years. 

June 6. This morning at an early hour a sub-committee, appointed 
yesterday by the executive committee, called upon me, requesting me to 
recall my letter declining the appointment. I heard all they had to say, 



JOTJENAL. 255 

and simply promised, if they would communicate their wishes in writing, 
to reconsider the question. I am thus vindicated by my associates, 
who know my whole course, and now have the matter in my own hands. 
As yet I see no reason why I should change my purpose. The Lord 
give me a spirit of candor and charity, and lead me to right conclusions. 
I pray for grace to sacrifice all that I ought, and act purely for Christ 
and his cause. I shall take time to consider well the whole question. 

June 16. My birthday. Solemn thoughts are mine as I look back 
and as I look forward. I am preparing a sermon for to-morrow from 
the question, " Row old art thou?" 

Late this evening I received from one of my dear brethren (H. S. C.) 
a kind letter, enclosing a donation, from a few individuals, of eight hun- 
dred dollars. He was aware that during the first four and a half years 
of my connection with this people, my salary was insufficient to meet 
my expenses, and that consequently my mind was not free and unem- 
barrassed, and in his great kindness he has brought me this relief. The 
Lord reward him and all his fellow-donors. I feel overwhelmed — 
heavily oppressed. I know not how appropriately to acknowledge this 
act. I fear I shall not be suitably grateful to God, "the God of all 
grace." 

June 19. Concluded to return to my place in the executive commit- 
tee of the Union. In my answer to the sub-committee, I say, " I shall 
do it at no small sacrifice, and with many misgivings as to the utility of 
any service I may render." This is emphatically true, and I feel as if 
I were bowing my neck to a heavy yoke ; but the committee and foreign 
secretary, Dr. Peck, seem to regard my services as necessary to the 
prosecution of their work ; and to their earnestly expressed wishes I 
yield, in the hope that I may, a little while longer, be useful to a cause 
which I truly love. The draft upon my time and strength will be great, 
but if I am in the way of duty God will help me. While I cease from 
man, let me trust Him who " giveth power to the faint." 

July 18. The University at Cambridge conferred on me the hon- 
orary degree of D. D. The same degree was conferred on me by Brown 
University in 1846. On some accounts these unsought honors are grat- 
ifying; on others, they are undesirable. Their value is small. 

August 23. Have passed hours to-day in a solemn place — a cham- 
ber of death. Mrs. H. S. C, an endeared neighbor and friend, this 
evening, at ten and a half o'clock, entered into her eternal rest. I bap- 
tized her August 25, 1850. Lord, sanctify to us all this sore bereavement. 

August 28. A telegraphic despatch says, " Dr. Cone, of New York, 
died this morning, of paralysis." He was a man of great energy of pur- 
pose, of untiring industry, of devoted loyalty to Christ and his truth. 
He was my personal friend, and I am happy in the recollection of the 



256 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

sympathy which I have shown to him. He rests from his labors ; he is 
with Christ, whom he loved and served. 

December 31. During this year I have preached ninety-nine dis- 
courses, of which eighty-one were in Howe Street, made four hundred 
and seventy-one visits, attended twenty-seven funerals, married thirty- 
six couples : other services I cannot enumerate. God knows all I have 
done, and how everything has been done. I have nothing of which to 
boast. I would lie as a poor sinner before the mercy-seat, and depend 
wholly for justification on the righteousness of Christ. If he is not my 
Redeemer, then am I lost, justly condemned forever and ever. 



COBRESPONDESTCE. 257 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Correspondence. — Fourth Invitation to the Presidency of a 
College. — Journal. — Death of Edward D. Chamjberlin. — 
''Christian Brotherhood." — Second Voyage to Europe. — 
Journal while abroad. — Hosie again. 

The correspondence of Dr. Stow, during the period which 
has passed in review in the last two or three chapters, is 
quite voluminous, and we are obliged to confine ourselves to 
such selections as will bring to our notice well-known traits 
of his character. 

To his cousin, Mrs. Nettleton. 

Boston, May 17, 1848. 

When I inform you that I have been absent more than six weeks on a 
journey for the benefit of my health, you will understand why no answer 
has been returned to your kind favor of April 8, and, of course, will 
excuse me from all suspicion of culpable negligence. 

My dear E. and myself left home the last day of March, and travelled 
as far as Washington, where, in a very balmy climate, I gained a little 
relief. I am still an invalid, however, and unfit for any useful service. 
I shall probably soon dissolve my connection with dear Baldwin Place, 
and endeavor, by entire relaxation from mental labor, at least for a few 
months, to recruit my exhausted energies. It has cost me immense 
suffering to reach this conclusion ; but I see no alternative, and hope to 
have grace to submit quietly to the divine will. 

To your inquiries I can give you the following answers : — 

1. The Scriptures are, for the most part, translated with great faith- 
fulness. A few passages might be better translated, but I do not know 
the man whom I would trust to make the improvement. 

2. There is no " virtue in going to communion," apart from the simple 
fact of obedience to the command of Christ. The Lord's Supper is a 
commemorative ordinance, to be observed by baptized believers, and, 

17 



258 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

when rightly observed, has a good moral effect upon themselves, and is 
well pleasing to the Saviour. 

3. I know nothing in my own experience of a feeling in prayer as if 
I " talked with God face to face, as with a person." I am not aware of 
any requirement that we should thus feel. We may " draw nigh " to 
God, and feel that we are in his presence, but we are not permitted to 
give him any form or shape, as if he were " a person." " God is a 
spirit," &c. 

4. God has appointed prayer as a means to an end. He has promised 
to answer prayer. He has often answered it, and none of his " fixed 
laws " can prevent his doing as he pleases. The law of prayer, I sup- 
pose, is as much a " fixed law " as any other. Prayer changes no pur- 
pose of God, for his eternal plan includes every prayer that is offered. 
Prayer places the praying man in such a relation to God as to ren- 
der it suitable for God to treat him in a different manner from what he 
would were he a prayerless man. But apart from all theories, it is 
enough for me that God hears and answers prayer. He says, " Ask and 
ye shall receive." Why should I speculate ? 

5. I am accustomed, when I administer the Lord's Supper, to repeat 
the exact words of the Saviour — " This is my body," &c. ; " This is 
my blood," &c. I do not know that the form is " important ; " but there 
seems to me to be a fitness in such a solemn ordinance that we should 
keep before our minds the very idea which the Saviour presented to the 
minds of his disciples. 

To his sister. 

Boston, November 27, 1850. 

I am afraid you will think me quite unfraternal, I write so seldom. 
October 7, I think, was my last date. Fifty days are rather too many 
for me to be silent. But, be assured, I have not forgotten you, nor does 
my love for you in the least abate in fervor or strength. I think of you 
daily, and pray for you and yours. Gladly would I write oftener, but my 
time is cut up into inch pieces by all sorts of duties, calls, interruptions, 
&c. Last Thursday, November 21, I wished to write, and tell you how 
much I thought of our dear father, who, on that day, thirty-four years 
ago, looked upon us for the last time, and went home to his everlasting 
rest. I suppose you, too, remembered the day, and, like me, had your 
solemn thoughts and tender remembrances. My poor, hard heart was 
a little softened, and I prepared a sermon from " Christ liveth in me" — 
Gal. ii. 20. 

I am now writing the evening before our Thanksgiving, and I am 
again carried back to the old red house near Endicott's Mills, and the 
scenes of early life are revived afresh. Royal and I have just been out 



CORRESPONDENCE. 259 

to the barn, and wrung the necks of roosters, hens, and chickens, and 
Tempe and Judy, and Hannah Buel, or some other cousin, are picking 
and singeing the murdered creatures. And mother, dear mother, is 
making pastry, and preparing other good things for the great occasion. 
A large pile of oven- wood is in " the corner." Peter sits on the " dye- 
tub," looking wistfully at the whole process. Above, the poles are full 
of drying apples and pumpkins. A bright fire is burning in the great 
fireplace, and the wind whistles through the casements, portending the 
first snow-storm. The school is to commence next Monday, and the 
schoolmaster is to board with us ; and we talk about books and pencils, 
and wonder how many spelling-schools we shall have. In the midst of 
all, uncle Nat, or Major Trask, or Mr. Whittlesey comes in, and talks 
about the weather, or the last funeral, or Ben Noyes. And so the even- 
ing passes. 

Now you will say, Brother Baron is certainly growing old : he lives 
in the past ; he loves to talk about old times. Yes, sister, I am older 
than I was, and I think a great deal of the days when we were all to- 
gether, an unbroken circle. O, how changed ! One half of the family 
are in heaven. Soon we shall all have passed away ! God grant that 
we may all meet, and spend an eternal Thanksgiving before the throne. 

To the same. 

Boston, June 2, 1851. 

You are certainly one of my best correspondents, for you write 
just what I wish to know, and write from the heart. But it certainly 
is a little too bad that you should have to do the work of the church. 
The direction of the apostle was, " Help those women who labored 
with me in the gospel." In Newport it seems the order of things 
is reversed. I suspect the gentlemen are not afraid of the " D. D." 
Shame on them if they are ! Those semilunar appendages add noth- 
ing to me. I never put them there, and if they scare away my old 
friends, I will renounce them as not only worthless, but injurious, and 
stand forth without them, simply as Baron Stow, the Newport boy. 
No, Persis, those who knew me thirty years ago, and looked down upon 
me, have now no more occasion to look up to me. I have grown older, 
but I fear not better. I am but a sinner, dependent upon grace. My 
office I would magnify, but God forbid that it should ever magnify me, 
in fact or in feeling. 

From Dr. Sharp. 

Boston, May 3, 1852. 

I cannot find words which will express to you my grateful sense 
of the most admirable address which you communicated to me on 
the 29th ultimo. Nothing could have been more delicately, respect- 



260 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

fully, and affectionately composed and expressed. As I suppose 
your hand and heart were in it, I thank you most sincerely. I 
have read it over repeatedly, and with tears ; and, although I may not 
deserve all the kind things you say, yet I am willing to appropriate 
them as one who has intended to be what you have so kindly said of me. 
I also owe a debt of gratitude to the brethren who have signed, or may 
intend to sign, the address, which I can never repay. The vase, so ele- 
gant, so simply beautiful, with the chaste and yet loving inscription, 
shall always occupy a conspicuous place in my house, to remind me 
of the donors, ministers of Christ ever dear to me. And the bouquet, 
most beautiful and fragrant, emblem of the brightness, the beauty, and 
the sweet odor which love diffuses through a wide circle of Christian 
brethren. 

Read this to all the brethren interested in my imperfect acknowledg- 
ment of your kindness and theirs. 

To his sister. 

Boston, April 11, 1853. 

You allude to the possibility that I may have done good to souls, 
even when I did not know it. Certainly I have reason to be 
grateful to God that he has made any use of me in his service. I 
have been pastor a little over twenty-five years. During that 
period I have baptized eight hundred and forty-six persons. Some of 
this number have fallen away ; some are, I trust, in heaven ; and many 
are living, active Christians. I have often detected impurity in my mo- 
tives, and God has seen more than I have; but I think my ruling aim 
has been to glorify Christ in the salvation of souls. 

When I came to Eowe Street it was with much trembling. My health 
was very imperfect. The interest was quite low, and the church were 
nearly dispirited. They had built an expensive place of worship, and 
had a debt upon it of fifteen thousand dollars. I could do nothing by 
the force of popularity. If anything was to be accomplished, it must 
be by the blessing of God upon work. I addressed myself to the task, 
at first cautiously ; and I have kept on laboring as God gave me strength. 
In four years and five months I have welcomed two hundred and sixty- 
four into the church. The house of worship is full. During the past 
year, in addition to the four thousand dollars for our current expenses, 
we have raised three thousand dollars for benevolent purposes. More 
than this, my people have raised among themselves fifteen thousand 
dollars, and paid off their entire debt. Yesterday we worshipped for 
the first time in a house free from encumbrance. Now, I trust God 
can accept the dedication. O that we may be humble in prosperity, 
and not grieve the Spirit by any unhallowed feeling of self-gratulation. 
For lack of spirituality in a church there is no substitute. 



LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 261 

To Rev. Dr. Cone. 

Boston, August 24, 1854. 

One of our city papers last evening announced that you had be- 
come the subject of a heavy bereavement, and my heart at once 
went out towards you in earnest, affectionate sympathy. You have, 
I believe, for years had frequent occasion to anticipate this event; 
but you doubtless find that you have never, until its occurrence, fully 
realized the magnitude of the affliction. We talk of being " prepared " 
for such dispensations ; but the preparation, at best, is only partial. 
The reality differs from the picture which fancy has sketched. There 
are ingredients in the cup which we have not expected. There 
is a desolation of heart and home which cannot be preconceived. 
You now have the experience which teaches the whole truth. Liga- 
ments are severed whose delicacy and strength you now understand 
as you never did before. Tendrils of affection, of whose tenacity you 
were scarcely conscious, now lie broken and bleeding. A thousand 
tender recollections come up, which no other event could have revived. 
It is the heart that suffers, for a part of itself is torn away. 

In this hour of your peculiar sorrow, human sympathy can do but 
little for your relief. You must have solace from a higher source. 
And I am sure that you have it. Your theology embraces large views 
of God's gracious sovereignty, and they are now productive of a rational 
and solid consolation. The Bible view of the divine character, and gov- 
ernment, and plan of mercy is rich with the higher order of comforts, 
and the believer knows the sweetness of submission to Him who says, 
"Be still, and know that I am God." 

I can tell you nothing new of the sources of true relief under such a 
trial. You can teach me. But I cannot forbear to assure you of my 
fraternal sympathy, and my fervent prayer that the Master whom you 
have long served will ever be near for your support and succor. 
Henceforth the Bible will be to you more precious, and the mercy-seat 
far dearer; the work of the Lord will be more delightful; the gloom 
will be more effectually dispersed from the grave; heaven will be a 
more attractive home. May your faith not fail. In all the remnant of 
your pilgrimage may the joy of the Lord be your strength. 

Early in the year 1856 Dr. Stow was again urged to con- 
sider the question of accepting the presidency of another in- 
stitution of learning. This was the fourth time that he had 
been invited to take charge of a college; but neither the 
frequency nor the urgency of the calls had been able to turn 
him aside from the duties of his chosen profession. Although 
he doubts whether he can much longer perform the exhaust- 



262 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

ing labors of a city pastor, yet he will persevere in the en- 
deavor to meet the responsibilities of his position so long as 
God gives him health and strength. How many a pastor will 
sympathize with him in the record which he makes, expres- 
sive of the difficulty he feels in trying to cast all his care on 
God! He is troubled with the idea that his preaching is 
useless, that the people feel no interest in it, and that God 
gives it no success. To the discouraged minister, toiling on 
in his hard work, and seeing very little visible fruits of his 
labors, it may afford a kind of comfort to know that such a 
man as Baron Stow was " a man of like passions " with 
himself; that the cares, and solicitudes, and sorrows of a life 
in which there is so much to try both faith and patience, are 
the common heritage of all the ambassadors of Christ. The 
view of a suffering Lord brings the coveted alleviation. " O, 
what a sufferer was Jesus for my sake ! Why should I shrink 
from suffering in his service ? Poor creature that I am ! How 
light a burden crushes me ! Let me look at Gethsemane, at 
the palace of Caiaphas, at the halls of Pilate and Herod, at 
Calvary ! Let me dwell upon the particulars of the dreadful 
Passion, and o]3en my heart to their softening influence." 

We pass over the events of this year, as there is but little 
in the external life of Dr. Stow worthy of special notice. A 
few extracts from the journal of 1857 are all our limits will 
allow. 

Received a sermon, preached in Portsmouth, N. H., February 15, by 
Eev. A. P. Peabody, D. D., at the closing of the Sunday school-room 
in Court Street, which is to be replaced by a new building for the same 
purpose. That was the dear old chapel, erected in 1761, in which I 
preached for more than a year, from July 22, 1827, to September 21, 
1828. The sermon is mainly historical. As a specimen of Christian 
candor, charity, and justice it is remarkable. 

October 24. A memorable day in my history. Thirty years ago this 
day I took upon me solemn vows, and my seniors consecrated me to the 
work of the Christian ministry. I have for weeks anticipated this anni- 
versary ; and, as I have reviewed my history for all these years, I have 
said I would observe the day in a special manner. As I have remem- 
bered God's goodness to me, I have wished to observe the day as one 



PEEPLEXITIES AND GEATEFUL EMOTIONS. 268 

of thanksgiving and praise. Then, as I have remembered my many 
sins, my defective services, I have felt I ought to observe it by fasting, 
humiliation, and prayer. Ought I not to be both thankful and penitent? 
If I do not grievously mistake my feelings, I am grateful to God for his 
multiplied mercies, and I have some penitential feelings in view of my 
unfaithfulness. I have had some trials, but no more than I needed. I 
have had blessings infinitely beyond my deserts. I have never been 
suitably grateful for God's kindness to me and mine. I have often been 
unreconciled to my discouragements and sufferings. My trust in God 
has been defective. I have prayed too little, and often without faith. 

November 29. Passed the evening in my study, reading Spurgeon's 
"The Saint and his Saviour" — a work in which I am more interested 
than I expected to be. It has blemishes ; but when I consider the age 
of the writer (about twenty -four), and his popularity as a preacher, I am 
surprised to find so few. I have had, and still have, fears that he would 
be puffed up by popular applause, and explode in some disgraceful form ; 
but really it seems God must be with him, or he could not have made 
such attainments in Christian knowledge. His book is full of brilliants, 
many gathered from old authors, but many unquestionably original. It 
is a mystery to me how one so young is so richly acquainted with the Bible 
and Christian experience. Is he not eminently instructed by the Spirit? 
O God, shield him from every danger. " Hold up his goings in thy 
paths, that his footsteps slip not." 

In the spring of 1858 a few friends of Dr. Stow placed in 
his hands a generous sum of money to defray the expenses 
of a summer vacation to be spent abroad, and the standing 
committee of his society voted him leave of absence. This 
unexpected token of the affection of his people greatly af- 
fected his heart. And yet he was embarrassed by the act. 
The church had been religiously revived, and quite a number 
of conversions had gladdened the heart of the anxious pastor. 
He was perplexed to know what was duty. Meanwhile, before 
reaching a decision, he was informed that, for the third time, 
he had been elected one of the secretaries of the Missionary 
Union. Grateful for the honor done him, he declined to 
leave what he regarded as his appropriate work — that of a 
pastor. He decided also to postpone the visit abroad to 
another season. 

Under date of July 7, Dr. Stow alludes to an event which 
brought sadness to an afflicted family, and great grief to his 



264 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

own heart. Intelligence had reached Boston that Mr. Edward 
D. Chamberlin, son of Edward Chamberlin, Esq., had been 
drowned in Providence, R. I. Young Chamberlin was a 
member of Brown University, and greatly beloved and re- 
spected by a large circle of friends. Dr. Stow preached a 
touching and most impressive sermon, suggested by the sud- 
denness of the event, to which allusion has been made, from 
1 Sam. xx. 3 — " There is but a step between me and death." 
Those who listened to this discourse will not soon forget it. 

The commencement of 1859 finds Dr. Stow busily en- 
gaged in preparing for the press his " Christian Brotherhood," 
and his " First Things." We think we speak the truth when 
we say that of all the works winch were the product of his 
pen, (and he gave to the public quite a number), this one on 
Christian Brotherhood was his favorite. The subject was a 
congenial one to his generous and catholic spirit. He felt that 
the points of contact between himself and all true Christian 
souls were vastly more in number than the points of diver- 
gence which separated him and them. He delighted to speak 
of "the communion of saints," and deplored the spirit of 
bigotry and sectarianism which led even good men to cherish 
unkind and ungenerous sentiments towards each other. In 
the introduction, which is in the form of a letter to his long- 
cherished friend, Deacon Heman Lincoln, he says, "The 
manuscript has remained in my hands more th9n fifteen 
years — a period much longer than Horace recommends to 
authors for purposes of revision and emendation." Its pub- 
lication gave rise to the expression of an opinion that per- 
haps its author was a little lax in his denominational views, 
and not as warm in his denominational attachments as he 
should be. This objection Dr. Stow anticipated in the letter 
to Deacon Lincoln, and avows his wish to remove none of 
the old* landmarks, but still declaring that he finds in the 
faith and spiritual life of all the real followers of Christ so 
much that is attractive, that he cannot help feeling drawn 
towards them with an affection which he must regard as the 
fruit of the Holy Spirit. He quotes with great pleasure the 



SECOND VOYAGE TO EUROPE. 265 

words of a clergyman of another denomination : " I have been 
a happier man ever since I adopted the practice of always 
praying for other denominations before I pray for my own, 
or even for myself. My heart has been drawn ont, as it never 
was before, in love to all Christians. I now know what it is to 
sympathize in their afflictions, and rejoice in their prosperity, 
and they all seem to me as my Father's family." 

How all the work which he was now doing taxed his 
energies, and drew on his vital powers, none but those who 
have had a similar experience can well comprehend. At 
the close of one of these weeks of unremitting labor he 
writes, " I now conclude another week of care and toil, but 
with no prospect of rest to-morrow. Seven days I labor and 
do my work. One half of the night is all the time I get for 
repose. Sweet is the thought — there is rest in heaven." 
The coveted relaxation at length came. He embarked on 
board the steamer, which was to bear him once more over the 
ocean, on the 20th of April, and landed in Liverpool on the 
2d of May. It was among his own cherished plans, strength- 
ened by the ardent wishes of those who had generously con- 
tributed to send him abroad, to extend his trip to the Holy 
Land. Amid the sacred associations of Palestine he hoped 
to find a new stimulus to his piety, and bear back to his 
beloved flock a heart into which new life had been infused 
by his contact with the scenes ever hallowed by the presence 
of our blessed Lord and Master. We may judge of his dis- 
appointment when we find that he is discouraged from mak- 
ing the attempt to visit the East, by learning that there is a 
probability that communication will be disturbed by war; 
that the lateness of the season will render it hazardous to 
make the attempt to go to Palestine ; and moreover that the 
vexatious quarantine arrangements, to which every one from 
Egypt was subjected, will compel him to spend fifteen pre- 
cious days at Jaffa. As we shall see hereafter, he abandoned, 
though reluctantly, his purpose to visit the Holy Land. 

We shall give a few extracts from the journal of Dr. Stow, 
written during this his second tour in Europe. 



266 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

May 20. A beautiful day. I have passed it in the Grand Duchy of 
Nassau. Went with Mr. G. in the morning over the bridge to Castel, 
and then by railway to Weisbaden, a famous watering-place, where 
thousands from all countries pass the warm season. It is the capital of 
the duchy, situated in a beautiful valley at the base of the hills of the 
Taunus, and is rich in saloons, gardens, and splendid private residences. 
Visited the Greek Chapel, up on the side of a hill, in a forest — a splendid 
little temple, dedicated to the service of the Greco-Russian church ; in 
it is a beautiful recumbent statue of the first wife of the present grand 
duke, who was a Russian princess, and died at the age of nineteen 
years. Visited the hot spring, and drank of the water, which tasted 
much like chicken-broth, rather salt. Looked in upon the gamblers, 
men and women, with piles of gold and silver rapidly changing hands. 
A sorry sight ! 

On the 21st of May, he sailed down the Rhine, admiring, 
in common with all travellers, the beautiful scenery which 
everywhere met the eye. Returning the same day, he passed 
the Sabbath at Mayence. How this Sabbath was spent will 
appear from the following : — 

May 22. Holy Sabbath. How shall I here "remember the Sabbath 
day to keep it holy " ? Had some comfort this morning, upon my knees, 
before my heavenly Father, thanking him for his mercies, supplicating 
his favor upon my family, my flock, and myself. God is here as well as 
in Boston ; but here are not, as there, Christian privileges. Would that 
I could bow this morning, with my precious two, at our domestic altar! 
Would that I could be in Rowe Street one hour to-day, and look on the 
faces of my loved people, and speak to them of Jesus and his salvation ! 
This is my fifth Sabbath away. Let me devote it wholly to God. This 
my exile is a discipline, not joyous for the present, but rather grievous. 
Help me rightly to view it, and to derive from it benefit. O that I may 
return to my home a better man, more contented with my lot, more 
grateful for my blessings, more zealous in my ministry ! Surely I shall 
be remembered and prayed for in Rowe Street to-day. Would that my 
people could know how my heart goes out to God for them ! At eleven 
went to the English Chapel, and made one of nine worshippers — seven 
women and two men. It was a cheerless place. The swallows over- 
head, feeding their young, kept up a constant twittering. A burly 
Scotchman mumbled the service of the Anglican church, and preached 
a sermon from Matt. xx. 8. I endeavored to worship, but did not suc- 
ceed as I hoped. O, give me the simplicity and solemnity of our Rowe 
Street service ! 



HEIDELBERG. 267 

May 23. Frankfort on the Maine. At 10.40 this morning, I left 
Mayence on the Taunus railway, and arrived here at noon. News has 
arrived of some hard fighting in Italy, and the excitement here is any- 
thing but agreeable to me. Mr. Ricker, United States consul general, 
whom I have just seen, is confident there is to be a general European 
war. He expresses doubt as to the expediency of my going farther east, 
and advises me to keep on ground where I can retreat at a moment's 
notice. Really this is not very comforting. To God I commend my- 
self, for he is my guide and my keeper. 

May 24. The political horizon looks squally indeed. I may be obliged 
again to change my plan of travel, and hasten out of Germany ; perhaps 
return to England, and even to America. Well, having surrendered 
my main object, I can more easily give up any other portion of my 
proposed tour. On Him who careth for me I cast all my care — trust 
him to lead me in his own way. O that I may have grace to confide 
in him ! 

Heidelberg, May 25. At 10.20 A. M., I left Frankfort, and at 12.25 
reached this place, stopping at " Prinz Carl." From my window I 
look up the heights to the famous old castle, and down upon a square 
filled with children engaged in all manner of sports. Now, at three 
P. M.j hear thunder for the first time in Europe. The day has been 
very warm. After dinner took a fiacre, and rode up the Neckar, 
then by a winding route ascended the mountain by way of the Wolfs- 
brunnen, where I saw immense numbers of trout in the terraced fish 
ponds ; thence through forests and cultivated fields to the fine old castle, 
which dates back more than five hundred and fifty j'ears. Through this 
immense structure I followed my guide, a German young lady who 
could speak " lettle Anglish," for more than an hour, up and down, and 
round about, admiring and wondering. O, how my pleasure would have 
been increased, tenfold, had my family been with me ! In all I enjoy, 
the feeling steals over me that I am alone : to press on in my lonely 
wanderings I am obliged to summon all my powers of will. There is 
little pleasure in doing a thing because one must ; but whatever of pleas- 
ure there is, precisely that pleasure is mine. 

Munich, May 27. At four P. M. rode out of the city to see the bronze 
statue of Bavaria, sixty feet high, and weighing thirty-six thousand 
nine hundred pounds. It is a beautiful work of art, and eligibly situated 
on a high bank, overlooking a meadow which lies between it and the 
city. From this position had a fine view of the Tyrolese Alps on the 
one side, and a dark thunder-storm on the other. 

Zurich, June 1. Walked to the reading-room, and saw the only 
American paper, the Weekly New York Herald. In a shop window 
saw a large " Bird's-eye View of Boston." 0, how my heart leaped as I 
recognized Rowe Street Church, Boylston Market, and, more than all, 



268 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Harrison Avenue, the very spot where I would be ! I stood long and 
gazed at the familiar objects ; but O, how crushing the thought that I 
am four thousand miles away ! 

June 6. A beautiful day this has been. At ten A. M. I went on 
board a little steamer for an excursion up the lake. The scenery on 
this lake is said to be the finest in Switzerland. If there is any finer, 
I would go far to see it. 

Stopped at Weggis to land a party who were going up the Rhigi, and 
then wound about in almost every direction between mountains of im- 
mense altitude and of all shapes. Interested in the basaltic formations. 
On the right, at the bottom of a small bay, is KUsnacht, near where Wil- 
liam Tell shot Gessler (the tyrant who sought to enslave Switzerland), 
piercing his heart with an arrow. 

Farther on is GrUtli, the place where Arnold, and Walter Filrst, and 
Stauffacher, with thirty others, confederated, in 1307, with solemn oath, 
to free their country from Austrian oppression. On the left, near 
Agensburg, is the spot where Tell leaped ashore from the boat that was 
bearing him, the prisoner of Gessler, marked by a little chapel built 
in 1522. 

At Fluelen, the termination of the lake, commences the road over the 
Mount St. Gothard. Here Mr. McM. and myself hired a carriage and 
rode to Altdorf, where are two fountains, the one surmounted by a rude 
statue of Tell and his cross-bow, the other by a statue of Gessler. They 
are eighty yards apart, the latter marking the spot where stood Tell's 
little son Walter, with the apple on his head; the former, the spot from 
which the father, at the command of Gessler, shot the arrow through 
the apple. 

Then we rode up a brawling stream to Buglen, and saw the chapel 
standing where Tell was born, and the place where he was drowned in 
an attempt to rescue a child from the rushing torrent. The scenery 
around this place is awfully grand. 

Returned to Fluelen, dined, and reached Lucerne at six and a half 
P. M. Seen much to-day to be remembered. Were I well, I would, as 
Dr. Gould charged me, " go up the Rhigi." The effort would be im- 
prudent. 

We had on the boat to-day, from Weggis to Lucerne, a school of fifty 
bright boys, who, with their teachers, had taken an excursion. They 
sang with spirit several Swiss songs, which added not a little to the 
pleasure of the trip. 

Berne, June 7. I have now been in eight of the twenty-two cantons. 
I think better of Switzerland than I expected. I like not only the coun- 
try, but the people. They are very industrious and civil. 

Geneva, Hotel des Bergues, June 14. This morning took a carriage 
alone, and went out to " Ferney," about four miles, a small village in a 



VOLT AIRE . 269 

beautiful valley near the foot of the Jura range, and on the great road 
over which my dear E. and myself passed May 14, 1841, by diligence to 
Dijon and Paris. 

The excursion was through a delightful country. How rich and lux- 
uriant the vegetation ! How loaded the atmosphere with floral perfume ! 
The farmers were cutting the grass in their hay-fields, and I tried to 
imagine myself in some rural district of New England. 

At Eerney, for two francs, was permitted to see the private apart- 
ments of Voltaire in his chateau, which is situated in the department de 
l'Ain, Erance. He resided there from 1759 to 1777. The chateau is 
not remarkable for its architecture, but resembles a plain, country 
house. It is on a small eminence, a little south of the main road, and 
nearly hidden by a forest of old oaks. The grounds are prettily laid 
out, and kept in fine order. The bed-chamber remains nearly in the 
condition that he left it when he went to Paris to finish his career. In 
1845, the Marquis de Villette placed in it the " mausolee pyramidal," 
which contains the heart of Voltaire. Over the monument are the 
words, " Mes manes sont consoles, puisque mon coeur est au milieu de 
vous." Below is the inscription, " Son esprit est partout, et son coeur 
est ici." 

There were busts, portraits, medallions, &c, of the man. Among the 
pictures was one of Erederick the Great, of Prussia, the Empress 
Theresa, of Austria, and an engraving of our own Washington. There 
are the bed on which he slept, his chairs, his writing-table, &c, &c 

In the park I walked in the beautiful arbor where he was accustomed 
to walk, and dictate to his secretary. Close by is the little stone 
chapel, bearing the inscription, "Deo erexit Voltaire, 1761." When 
superintending its erection, he jestingly said, " Si Dieu n'existait pas, 
il faudrait l'inventer." Of course he had no worship there. 

When I was at Geneva before, I felt that I owed nothing to the mem- 
ory of Voltaire, and declined visiting Eerney. My views are unchanged 
as regards the man, but I wished to see the place where so many, in his 
lifetime, visited him, and paid him a homage that he did not deserve. As 
I looked at the various objects which so many travellers have de- 
scribed, I could not forbear to think of his condition in the eternal 
world* " Son esprit est partout; " but where? 

If Universalism be true, then he is with Christ. When I refer to the 
grounds on which he opposed the Christian religion, I find no manly 
candor. When I see in what scenes of physical beauty he lived, with an 
horizon filled with grand exhibitions of the divine power, I ask, How 
could he have so perversely reasoned against the existence of the God 
of the Bible ? 

Ah, the Bible contains the explanation in its disclosures respecting 
human depravity. In every age, as men have appeared who united in 



270 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

themselves the sum of the heavenly virtues, so also have men appeared 
who were the concentration of all the evil elements of fallen human na- 
ture. Voltaire was the impersonation of that inspired truth, " The car- 
nal mind is enmity against God." His heart was the expository of hate. 
What of real good did he not hate ? With abilities that might have 
made him a great blessing to the world, he was really a signal curse. 
And yet God employed him indirectly as a means for the accomplish- 
ment of great and good ends. 

Since Voltaire went to his final account, leaving so much evil in- 
fluence to damage the world, Christianity has made more progress than 
it had previously made for many centuries. Christ has shown himself 
to be the Living Head of his empire. On him the crown has flourished. 
His enemies he has clothed with shame. O, my Saviour, I adore thee 
the more profoundly, and I love thee the more fervently, as the result 
of this day's observations and reflections. Thou art the King of Kings, 
and Lord of Lords. Thine enemies die, but thou, who wast dead, liv- 
est, and art alive forevermore, and hast the keys of hell and of death. 
At thy feet I fall ; to thee I render homage ; in thy power and promise I 
confide ; on thy blood and righteousness I depend ; to thee I consecrate 
myself for time and eternity. O that I may love thee more, serve 
thee better, and dwell with thee forever! To be where thou art is 
heaven. 

Since writing as above, I have compared my thoughts and feelings 
while at Ferney with those which I had, but did not record, as I stood 
over the resting-place of the mortal part of John Calvin. . How different 
the man of the sixteenth century from the man of the eighteenth ! The 
one held up the " Light of Life" to enlighten the nations, the other la- 
bored to extinguish that Light, and to darken both the present and the 
future pathway of humanity. 

Is Universalism true ? Are John Calvin and Voltaire both in heaven ? 
Are they now engaged in similar pursuits ? 

London, July 24. Holy Sabbath. Went in the morning to the Scotch 
church, in Crown Court, and heard Rev. Dr. Cumming. Had a front 
seat in the gallery. The services lasted two hours. Singing four times, 
three prayers, reading, and exposition of Scripture, and sermon. The 
doctor preached a very simple, plain, rich gospel sermon, from Matt. 
xxvi. 19, on the significance of the passover. I was instructed and 
delighted. Saw him afterwards in the vestry. Went with Mr. Child, in 
the evening, to New Park Street Church, and heard Mr. Spurgeon. He 
was in his best mood, and he answered my conception of him as formed 
from his printed sermons. Text, Ps. lxxxiv. 5, "Blessed is the man 
whose strength is in thee." 

July 28. After dinner proceeded by railway to Kettering, and visited 
the house in which Andrew Fuller lived and died, and the chapel in 



JOURNAL. 271 

which he preached, and the house in which the Baptist Missionary- 
Society was formed in 1792. Received special attentions fro*m a Mr. 
Toller, son of the Independent minister of that name, who was con- 
temporary with Fuller. 

Went to Northampton, on the River Nen ; visited the chapels in which 
the Rylands preached ; also Dr. Doddridge's chapel, where we saw his 
likeness, chair, table, &c. 

Came to Blisworth, and then took a fly nine miles to Olney. Saw 
Cowper's house and garden — the summer-house where, it is said, he 
wrote The Task. Went to John Newton's house, and were [ ad- 
mitted to the church in which he and Thomas Scott preached. At 
Bedford we were shown a small cabinet that belonged to John Bunyan. 
Rev. John Gill was born at Kettering. 

July 31. Holy Sabbath. A bright, beautiful day. In the morning 
went to the Scotch Church, Regent Square, where the erratic Edward 
Irving formerly preached. Heard Dr. Hamilton on Rev. i. 6 — " The 
priesthood of believers." A very good discourse — well delivered. The 
congregation sang from the Scotch version of the Psalms and Scripture 
paraphrases. I have thus heard the four great preachers of London, 
Noel, Cumming, Hamilton, and Spurgeon. They have given me sound 
doctrine, but none of them said anything adapted, as I conceive, to 
awaken and convert sinners. 

Evening. Heard Rev. Dr. Brock, at Bloomsbury Chapel, from James 
ii. 20. It was every way the best sermon I have heard in England. 

Belfast, Ireland, August 17. At one P. M. attended a Union prayer- 
meeting. More than a thousand persons were present, among whom 
were at least sixty clergymen. The services, conducted by an Episcopal 
clergyman, consisted wholly of reading Scripture, prayer, and singing. 
A revival of great power is now prevailing in Belfast, and other parts 
of Ulster. 

August 18. Have devoted myself to inquiries respecting the revival. 
Walked out into one of the suburbs, and visited Ewart's Row, a collec- 
tion of small tenements occupied by the families of operatives in linen 
mills. There we saw a gathering of converts, among them one young 
woman who had been " struck down ," and just "gained hope." I con- 
versed with her as I would with an inquirer at home, and was delighted 
with all she said. Three clergymen were present, one an Episcopalian, 
from London, one a Baptist, from Darlington, England, and one from 
Scotland. They had all come to observe " the work." And all testified 
that they were fully convinced that it is the work of God. I cannot 
record a tenth part of what I have learned, and must refer to a large 
collection of printed documents. At one open-air meeting I was pleased 
with the decorum and solemnity. 



272 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Boston, September 9. Here at last. Home again. The Europa, 
Captain Leitch, left Liverpool at ten A. M., August 27, bearing one hun- 
dred and fifty-three passengers. She took the northerly passage, around 
the north coast of Ireland. The voyage was protracted by constant head 
winds, and much of it very rough. We reached the wharf at East 
Boston to-day about noon. Find dear ones well. O, the goodness of 
God ! Let me not fail to be thankful. 



273 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Keminiscences by Dr. Child. — Letters from Europe. — Corre- 
spondence. 

Rev. W. C. Child, D. D., has furnished the following remi- 
niscences of his excursions with Dr. Stow to various localities 
in England, and we doubt not they will be read with interest. 

"In the summer of 1859 I met Dr. Stow in London. We 
had been spending some time on the Continent ; but, as -he 
was alone, he had failed to obtain from his joumeyings the 
pleasure and profit which he had anticipated. He seemed to 
me peculiarly unfitted to be a solitary traveller. His timid 
nature shrank from that contact with the rough world which 
a tourist's position necessitates ; and hence he neglected to see 
many things which would have greatly delighted him. I was 
certain, from what he said of his continental wanderings, that 
this was the case. He was lonely and sad. His joy, how- 
ever, was great at meeting the members of my family and 
myself. Our familiar faces reminded him of home, and, in- 
deed, seemed to constitute a part of home, especially as that 
term was associated in his mind with Boston, where he had 
lived so many years. 

" As I had several days of leisure, I proposed to him and 
Drs. Gillette and Phelps, who were also stopping in London 
at that time, an excursion of two or three days to certain 
localities, with which is intimately associated the memory of 
some of Christ's servants, whose names are embalmed in the 
church's heart, and of certain events which have had, and are 
still having, a powerful influence on the Christian development 
of the age. I refer to such places as Bedford, Elstow, Car- 
18 



274 MEMOEB OF DE. STOW. 

dington, Kettering, Northampton, and Olney, with which we 
connect the names of John Bunyan, John Howard, Andrew 
Fuller, Philip Doddridge, John Ryland, William Cowper, 
Thomas Scott, John Xewton, and others. I was confident 
that Dr. Stow's heart, keenly alive to true excellence of Chris- 
tian character, would bound with joy amid scenes and locali- 
ties so sacred. He was in full sympathy with that great 
evangelical movement of which these men were such distin- 
guished representatives. Their history was familiar to him ; 
and I knew that, as we might pass from point to point in our 
contemplated excursion, he would be ready to appreciate every 
element of interest. So that, however reluctant his sensitive, 
shrinking temperament might render him to join in it, he 
would enjoy it with the liveliest pleasure when actually under- 
taken. 

" This was literally true. He hesitated about going, seemed 
incredulous as to whether it would prove enjoyable, but was 
finally prevailed ivpon to accompany us. We set out early in 
the morning by rail, and arrived, at Bedford, some seventy 
miles from London, about nine o'clock. After breakfasting, 
we proceeded in our researches, first visiting the chapel be- 
longing to the church of which Bunyan was pastor, where, 
besides other objects of interest, we saw an old arm-chair, in 
which he used to sit when presiding at the church meetings — 
a memento of him for which the owners have refused the 
sum of a hundred guineas. Repairing to the house of the 
pastor, we had the satisfaction of seeing some articles of fur- 
niture which had been owned and used by Bunyan. The 
place was pointed out to us where stood the bridge over the 
Ouse, in a structure at the end of which he spent twelve years 
of prison life, and where his immortal allegory, the Pilgrim's 
Progress, had its birth. Then we rode to Elstow, and visited 
that lovely and unique cottage in which he was born ; then 
to Cardington, the seat of John Howard, the world-renowned 
philanthropist, where we found interesting memorials of that 
remarkable man. Certainly not one of the party could have 
had more enthusiasm amid such scenes than Dr. Stow. His 



VISIT TO KETTERING AND NORTHAMPTON. 275 

soul seemed to kindle into a sacred rapture as he trod on soil 
and visited localities that had been consecrated by men of so 
exalted worth as John Bunyan and John Howard. 

" The next point of interest in this excursion was Kettering, 
where Andrew Fuller lived and labored so long, and where 
the English Baptist Missionary Society was formed in 1792. 
There we entered the pulpit in which Fuller preached, and 
stood by the side of the grave in which he sleeps, and looked 
up the street in which Dr. Gill lived. Surely Dr. Stow could 
not be there without a quickened pulse ! Every feature and 
movement bore witness to the deep interest he felt. And 
when we went with Dr. Toller, son of that pious Independent 
minister who so many years lived and labored side by side 
with Fuller, in affectionate and confiding intercourse, and with 
whose life and character the beautiful Memoir written by 
Robert Hall makes us so well acquainted, to visit the house 
in which the broad-minded and noble founders of missions in 
India did their first work, and planted the seed from which has 
grown so great and fruitful a tree, no one of the party felt more 
profoundly than Dr. Stow the inspiriting influence of the place. 
We were on the very spot where the men sat, and counselled, 
and prayed, who ' attempted great things for God, and ex- 
pected great things from God ; ' and while there our dear broth- 
er's soul was radiant with a peculiar joy, which discovered 
itself in every feature and lineament of his expressive face. 

" As we were entering Northampton, on the morning of the 
second day, Dr. Stow was in a different mood, doubtless suf- 
fering a reaction from the strong and pleasing excitement 
through which he had passed on the previous day. He could 
not see what we had come to Northampton for ! ' Surely 
nothing can be found in this dull place to charm or interest 
us.' I reasoned with him. I assured him that we should 
find something. He seemed incredulous ; but I was confident 
that, if he would patiently persevere, he would be rewarded, 
and told him so ; that a place where Philip Doddridge lived 
and died could not be barren in objects and associations dear 
to the heart of the Christian ; and that a short time would 



276 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

undoubtedly bring to view what would delight us. Never 
did I see him in a more depressed or unhopeful mood. Soon, 
however, we found our way to the place where the elder Ry- 
land used to preach ; and subsequently, after much effort, we 
were standing in the vestry connected with Doddridge's 
Chapel. Then it was that the doctor's susceptible heart was 
aroused, and responded to the sweet influences of the place. 
Before us stood the identical table on which Doddridge wrote 
the Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul — a Christian 
classic, with which no one, perhaps, was more familiar than 
our dear brother. There was also the chair which that same 
saintly man occupied while engaged in the composition of 
that immortal work. Hanging in frames on the walls of the 
vestry were the letters containing the call of Doddridge to 
the pastoral care of the church, and his acceptance of the call, 
the latter in his own handwriting. Through a side door we 
passed into the chapel, and there entered the pulpit in which 
he was accustomed to preach. The pew that Colonel James 
Gardiner and family used to occupy was pointed out to us, 
lined with green baize, and different in that respect from all 
the others. Here it was that Dr. Stow's enthusiasm reached 
its culmination. Raising his hands, his face beaming with 
joy, he exclaimed, ' This is deeply interesting ! This is glo- 
rious ! ' I could not help saying to him, ' Doctor, haven't 
we found something in Northampton ? ' ' O, yes,' he re- 
sponded. ' How glad I am we came to this place ! ' 

" In walking around the town, we passed by the building 
known as Doddridge's College, erected originally for the 
education of young men for the ministry, but subsequently 
converted into residences, on account of the failure of the 
enterprise. Our visit to Northampton closed with a call on 
the late J. E. Ryland, Esq., the biographer of John Foster, 
whom we found cordial and agreeable. I may safely say, 
from the manifestations of interest which he gave, that that 
brief stay at Northampton was one of the most pleasing in- 
cidents of Dr. Stow's life. 

" In carrying out our plan, we turned our steps towards one 



HOME OF COWPER. 277 

more interesting locality. This was Olney, a quiet, se- 
cluded town, nine miles from the railway, and with which 
are associated memories of John Newton, Thomas Scott, and 
William Cowper. We rode in a fly from the station to the 
village, passing through Newport Pagnell, a name familiar 
to those who are acquainted with the life and writings of 
the poet. We easily found our way to the house in which 
Cowper lived with Mrs. Unwin. We went into that little 
parlor, whose windows look out upon the principal square of 
the town, and where the poet spent so many pleasant hours 
with his ever-faithful friend. There was the grate, which 
used to be all aglow with its cheerful fire in the gloom of 
winter, and on which the kettle would sing its song, as if re- 
joicing to make these good people happy by aiding in the 
preparation of that beverage ' which cheers but not inebri- 
ates.' This was the 'loophole of his retre'at' from which 
he was accustomed to look out upon the world ; and here 
could have been seen the original of that picture of domestic 
life which his inimitable pencil invested with so many charms. 
" In the rear of the house was the poet's garden — a favorite 
resort of his. There we saw standing, leafless and dead, the 
apple tree which was planted by himself. Its history and 
associations keep it from destruction, and no vandal hand is 
allowed to come upon it. In the same enclosure is the ' sum- 
mer house,' still well preserved, which was Cowper's favorite 
resort. Here he loved to compose. Here, it is said, the 
Task was written, as also that familiar and beautiful hymn — 

; There is a fountain filled with blood, 
Drawn from Irnmanuel's veins.' 

Here we sat down and sang some stanzas of it, more deeply 
impressed, if possible, by the thought that this was the place 
of its inspiration. 

" It could not be otherwise than that Dr. Stow's soul should 
be thrilled amid such scenes, and by the thoughts and emo- 
tions they engendered. At every place referred to he was 
deeply interested. Those good men whose lives had been 



278 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

associated with these localities seemed to him to have a more 
real existence, although they had all passed away, and their 
names only remained. And we cannot but think with pleas- 
ure of the delightful acquaintance with them which he has 
since formed in the ' better land,' where, the hand of sorrow 
no more presses upon the spirit, and the tear of sorrow no 
more moistens the eye." 

From among the many letters which Dr. Stow wrote while 
in Europe, we select a few, only regretting that we must 
confine ourselves to these few. 

To his wife. 

Waterloo Hotel, Liverpool, Boom No. 10, May 2, 1859. 

How often did I hear you say you would feel relieved when assured 
that I was " safely over." Well, here I am, a fresh monument of God's 
preserving goodness. O that I could telegraph you one word — safe ! 

I tried to keep a journal on shipboard, but could not write ; did my 
best to bear up by keeping on deck. At two o'clock this morning we 
dropped anchor in the Mersey. At nine, thanks to Captain Hiler, I 
found a good room at the Waterloo. 

Now, my dearest, join me in special gratitude to our faithful Father, 
who never disappoints the confidence of his children. We had news, 
at Halifax, of the aspect of affairs on the continent, that sadly disheart- 
ened me. War has commenced, and there is scarcely a probability I 
shall venture into the Mediterranean. All on board of the Canada, 
bound for Italy, gave up, this morning, that part of their plans. I shall 
wait till I get to London before I decide upon my course. 

May 3. Here I am in London, at the Golden Cross Hotel, Charing 
Cross. The day has been remarkably pleasant, the country green, and 
the orchards in full bloom. Called on our friend Mrs. Moore this P. M. 
She received me very cordially, and constrained me to remain to tea. 

The opinions of my bankers, and of our legation, are decidedly 
adverse to my attempt to go east. Hundreds of travellers bound east, 
through the Mediterranean, have given up their purposes. I could go 
round by the Bay of Biscay and the Straits of Gibraltar, but it would 
be nearly as far as to go home, and by a most comfortless route. 

I shall do my best to go farther, but you may learn, in my next letter, 
I am shut up in Europe. A failure to reach the Holy Land will be the 
first great disappointment of my life. You will regret it, my people 
will regret it ; but neither you nor they would have me rashly adventu- 



CORRESPONDENCE. 279 

rous. I am now more anxious than ever to accomplish an object upon 
which my heart has long been intent, and I know not how to be recon- 
ciled to the result. 

I am shut up to faith in the lesson of my last sermon — Trust and 
pray. I endeavor calmly to rely on God. My plans are likely" to be 
superseded by his, which must be better than mine. 

To his daughter. 

Hotel Wagram, Paris, May 9, 1859. 

Thursday, the 5th, I came to Paris. Here too I have sought counsel, 
and all dissuade me from venturing out of Europe. This disappoint- 
ment in the primary part of my plan has been very severe. Three 
things are quite certain. 

1. I am at least six weeks too late to make it prudent for me to go 
into the Levant. 

2. If I go, I cannot reenter Europe by the way of the Adriatic and 
Venice ; for the gulf is blockaded, and not an Austrian steamer is run- 
ning anywhere on the Mediterranean. Consequently, to get into 
Europe, I should have to come back to Marseilles, and very likely 
round to England, by the Strait of Gibraltar. 

3. None are now venturing over my proposed route by Egypt and 
Syria, and I should have to go alone, which all tell me would be 
madness. 

Paris is daily sending off soldiers to the seat of war; thousands have 
passed under my windows. Poor fellows ! going like cattle to the 
slaughter ! 

Evening. Called on Messrs. Munroe and Company, bankers. There 
met an American gentleman just from the East. In telling him of my 
plan of travel, he at once said, " You cannot prudently go." Several 
gentlemen concurred in his advice ; thus I have not found one person 
who has encouraged me to proceed. 

The emperor is to leave Paris to-morrow, to place himself at the 
head of his army in Piedmont. You cannot image the excitement 
through all Europe ; you should be here, to understand the agitation of 
feeling, and painful apprehensions of a general continental war. 

Accept a telegraphic kiss thirty-four hundred miles long, each of you. 
Remember me to" all my dear people. 

To his wife. 

Hotel Wagram, Paris, May 9, 1859. 

Have just mailed letters to M. and Deacon L. The interruption in 
my plan of travel has been a severe trial. From the time of my meet- 
ing the war news at Liverpool, I have been thrown as never before 



280 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

directly upon God. I turned, as a child, to my heavenly Father, and 
said, "I will trust him at all times; I will pour out my heart hefore 
him." My constant prayer has been, " Lord, direct thy perplexed ser- 
vant; show me what will please thee." From day to day the darkness 
thickened, but my confidence in him did not waver, and he has now 
given me peace. 

I propose now to proceed to Strasbourg, Frankfort, and Mayence ; so 
my next letter will be from the banks of the Rhine. 

While I now write, the Archbishop of Paris is saying high mass in the 
chapel of the Tuileries, preparatory to the departure of the emperor. 
Soon we shall hear of terrible slaughter, such as Europe has not seen 
since the days of Napoleon I. 

• To-day the Convention meets in New York to consider great denom- 
inational questions. May God preside over all the meetings, and give 
all the brethren one heart and one way. 

Accustomed as I am to lean upon you, I now understand how de- 
pendent I am upon you. During the past week I would have given a 
hundred dollars for two words of advice from yourself. But that was 
impossible. My trust was in God, and to him alone I had access. Ex- 
plain, please, my position to the proper friends. 

To his daughter. 

Paris, May 12. 

This morning I met Dr. H. and wife, of Boston, who has been nearly 
two years in the East. He says, " Under existing circumstances it 
would be rashness for me to venture beyond Europe." 

After a lunch at two P. M., rode to the Bois de Boulogne, beyond 
the Champs Elysees and L'Arc Triomphale de l'Etoile. The air was 
soft and balmy, the forest in full foliage, the shrubbery and grass 
in full bloom. I can give you no description of the scene, surpass- 
ing anything that I ever conceived of physical loveliness. The 
avenues were full of carriages, from the very simplest, like my cab- 
riolet, to the state coach of the " Petit Prince." What gayety, frivolity, 
display ! 

At a central point, under a broad canopy, was an immense orches- 
tra; and there I sat for an hour listening to music such as I never 
before heard. It brought tears to my unmusical nature, and I was 
reminded how much you both would have enjoyed it. 

To-morrow I start for the Rhine. In thus turning from my in- 
tended route, I feel sad indeed. All the trials of my life embodied 
would not equal this. My purpose now is to see as much of Ger- 
many as I can, and, if the fortunes of war permit, pass round through 
Switzerland to Geneva. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 281 

May 19. I'm here in Strasbourg, on the eastern frontier of France, 
in this old city of sixty thousand inhabitants, and strongly fortified. 
The journey from Paris has been a delightful one. The distance of 
three hundred and twelve and a half miles was accomplished in 
eleven hours and twenty minutes. Two French gentlemen, with their 
wives, occupied the same carriage with me. As they could speak 
Anglaise a " leetle small," and I French about the same, conversation 
was hard work. 

To-day I have been to the Grand Cathedral, of which I had 
often read, but of whose architectural grandeur and beauty I had 
no conception. There is the famous astronomical clock, one of the 
wonders of human ingenuity. Descriptions I shall reserve for that 
happy future when we three shall meet. 

Visited the Lutheran Church of St. Omer, where are the tomb of 
Marshal Saxe and the embalmed body of the famous Count of Nassau, 
after more than four hundred years in a good state of preservation ; 
also the house of the architect of the cathedral, where are preserved 
his models of the various parts of the structure. 

I walked outside of the city, through the grand promenade, looking 
beyond the Khine at the German mountains. Though this is a French 
city, the people are mostly German. 

It is Saturday night, and I am thinking who will occupy my pulpit to- 
morrow. God bless you and all my dear people. 

To his wife. 

Hotel d'Angleterre, Mayence, May 16. 

Left Strasbourg this morning at ten minutes after seven, and arrived 
at ten minutes after one P. M. — distance one hundred and seventy- 
five miles. Passed through Wissembourg, Neustadt, Ludwigshafen, 
Worms, &c. 

I have a room looking out upon the river, and the bridge of boats 
leading to Castel, on the opposite bank. This is a very old city, and in 
the wars of Germany has had a conspicuous place. 

May 20. A beautiful day, warm and exhilarating. Mr. J. and my- 
self have been over the river into the Grand Duchy of Nassau. Went 
first to the Weisbaden, a famous watering-place, visited in summer by 
thousands from all countries. 

Drank of the hot springs, visited many places of interest, looked in 
upon the gamblers, engaged — men and women — in their diabolical 
work. Walked through miles of gardens, ascended the hills back of the 
town, passing through rye-fields, grass-fields, vineyards, &c, among flow- 
ers and singing birds innumerable. Then came down to Bieberich, on the 
Rhine. Walked in the ducal park, lunched in a coffee garden, return- 
ing to Mayence in a little steamer. 



282 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

May 21. Rose at half past four this morning, and saw the sun rise. 
"Went on board the Stadt Bonn for a trip down the Rhine. The day 
was one of the loveliest, and the scenery surpassing in beauty anything 
I ever beheld in the terrestial. 

May 22. At eleven A. M. went to the English Chapel, and made one 
of nine worshippers — seven women and two men. A burly Scotchman 
mumbled the Episcopal service, and muttered a short sermon. I tried 
to worship, but could not, so gave myself up to home thoughts, loving 
better than ever the simplicity and solemnity of Rowe Street service. 

To his wife. 

Frankfort on the Maine, May 23. 

Crossing the Rhine to Castel, took the Taunus Railway and came 
through a most beautiful country. Among the grasses in full bloom I 
recognized the daisy, the buttercup, and red clover, of our own land. 

I am here at the Hotel de Hollande. Living at hotels in Germany is 
much cheaper than in England or France. I like the Germans, and 
get along better with their language than I feared. 

Now, my dear, may grace, mercy, and peace be yours continually, 
and a pastor's affectionate regards to all the members of his flock. 

May 24. I am still in Frankfort. To-day the news is threatening. 
Thirty-one thousand troops from Austria and Bavaria are moving to- 
wards the Rhine, monopolizing the railways, to the great annoyance of 
travellers. 

For three hours I have, been sight-seeing. To one, however, who has 
seen the galleries of art in Rome and Florence, those here seem flimsy 
concerns. I am most interested in places of historic association, such 
as the window from which Luther preached to a crowd in the street, the 
house in which Goethe was born, the birthplace of the Rothschilds, — the 
money kings of Europe, — the spot where the Prince of Hesse fell in bat- 
tle, the old cemetery, the cathedral in which the emperors, for nearly 
nine hundred years, were successively crowned, &c. 

After dining, I took a " fly" and rode around the city, admiring the 
environs, the beautiful groves of linden and button-wood, the gardens, 
the promenades, the residences of the wealthy, then far away up and 
down the river and the cultivated country. 

Heidelberg is a small, old town, of much historic interest. Arrived 
here to-day to dine. Situated on the River Neckar, at the base of a 
range of high hills, it is a pleasant place, much frequented by foreigners, 
who come here to spend the summer. It is forty-nine degrees twenty- 
four minutes north latitude, seven north of Boston, and yet the season 
is a month earlier. It is twenty-six degrees eighteen minutes east long., 



CORRESPONDENCE. 283 

about ninety-seven degrees east of Boston, a difference of more than six 
hours ; its population about fifteen thousand, of whom six hundred are 
students in the University. It belongs to the Palatinate, under the 
Grand Duke of Baden. 

Evening. Have been up and down the Neckar. Ascended the hill 
to the castle, the most remarkable in Europe. I can give you no idea 
of the picturesque, beautiful, grand views. I have been enraptured. 
Far down, the Neckar flowed rapidly on its way to the Rhine, which 
seemed, in the hazy distance, like a ribbon of silver. Beyond were the 
Vosges Mountains. The whole valley appeared like a garden tastefully 
cultivated. 

I had a fine sunset view of the castle from the opposite side of the 
river. Bought some flowers and strawberries from a little girl, then 
returned, past nine, to eDJoy the twilight. 

To-morrow I push on. 

To his wife. 

Munich, May 27. 

This has been a busy day. Joined a party from New York, and went 
through all of the king's palace. Visited churches, gardens, obelisks, 
statues, and a multitude of other objects. Munich in every respect ex- 
ceeds my expectations, and yet I have hardly begun to see it. 

The news to-day from Italy is exciting. You can scarcely imagine 
how feverish is the mind of all Germany respecting the war. The sym- 
pathy is strongly with Austria. O, how Napoleon III. is here hated ! 

May 29. At eleven A. M. I went to the English Chapel, but found it 
overfilled, and then strolled away north, out of the city, among the trees 
and green fields. There I could worship. In the shade of the lindens 
and chestnuts I breathed the sweet air and meditated. Having read in 
the morning the thirty-first and thirty-second Psalms, I had themes of 
reflection. The hum of the gay, Sabbathless city I scarcely heard. 
Nature was in her loveliest attire, and trees, grass, flowers, birds, 
insects, all spoke a language I could understand. 

A Munich paper announced, yesterday, an American Baron had taken 
apartments at the Bayererishschen Hof. 

The dear people of my care are now collecting for afternoon worship. 
Commending them and you to the grace of God, I seek rest. Blessings 
on you two. My heart reaches them by way of the mercy-seat. 

To his daughter. 

Lucerne, June 4, 1859. 
I thank you warmly for your two good letters. Continue, my daugh- 
ter, to supply me with every item of information you can think of. May 



284 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

you never know what it is to be alone, four thousand miles from home, 
and to hear from those you love only once in a fortnight. Perhaps in my 
letters I have said too much about my loneliness ; but how could I sup- 
press the facts? My only refuge has been prayer, and thus far God has 
kept me. I hope the worst is past ; but the future, the three months re- 
maining — O, how long ! 

I have just walked a little out of town, to see the monument of which 
I send you a picture. It is a colossal lion, cut in the face of a high, per- 
pendicular rock, and commemorates the Swiss Guards who fell at Paris, 
August 10, 1792, in defence of the royal family. It is after a model by 
Thorwaldsen, and is a superior work of art. The place is surrounded 
by forest trees, and in front of the rock is a limpid pool fed by springs 
that trickle down in miniature cascades. Lucerne has a population of 
about ten thousand, and is situated on both sides of the Reuss which 
empties by thu lake into the Rhine. On the one side is Mount Pilati, on 
the other the Rhigi. This lake is said to be the grandest in mountain 
scenery in all Switzerland. On Monday, I hope to go up the lake and 
see. My health will hardly allow me to ascend the Rhigi ; and indeed I 
shall probably leave Switzerland after having looked up rather than 
down upon her grand scenery. In my letter to mamma, I have stated 
the facts of my physical condition. By prudence I hope to prevent my 
case from becoming chronic ; but it will be a sacrifice of health to climb 
these mountains. Besides, my cough is harsh, and my throat and lungs 
will not endure the air in the region of snow. 

June 5. A very rainy day. I pass it in my chamber — reading, 
writing, thinking. The town is very still. No sounds reach my ear but 
the ripple of the lake on the levee beneath my window, and the hourly 
bell of the grand old cathedral. The day is very, very long. I wish I 
could transfer myself, for a part of it, to dear Rowe Street, and see who 
is in the pulpit and who are in the pews. 

To his wife. 

Zurich (Swisse), June 1, 1859. 
On Monday, the 30th ultimo, I forwarded a letter to you, my precious 
wife, from Munich, via Liverpool. Then I went with Mr. F., an Ameri- 
can student from Michigan, to visit the Glyptothek, or gallery of sculp- 
ture, and other interesting objects. Then I joined a Mr. A., of New 
York, in a ride of two hours in the environs of the city. I could have 
spent a week or more in Munich, for I was delighted with the place, and 
my expenses were reasonably moderate ; but the climate did not agree 
with me — the days were so hot and the nights so cold. Yesterday 
morning I rose at three and a half o'clock, and started for this place. 
Passed through Augsburg, Kimpten, Lindau, Romanshorn, and Winter- 



CORRESPONDENCE. 285 

then, a journey of twelve hours — more than two hundred and fifty 
miles. Had the snow-clad Alps in view nearly all the way. Some of 
the views were magnificent, and, ill as I was, I enjoyed them. From 
Lindau to Romanshorn was by a steamer, through Lake Constance. As 
the day was warm, I sat on deck and admired the beautiful, the pic- 
turesque, the grand! Here I am at the Hotel Bellevue, and have a 
corner room on the zweiter stock (seconde etage), looking out upon the 
debouchure of Lake Zurich. A few English are here, but no Ameri- 
cans. It is a town of sixteen thousand inhabitants, beautifully situated 
on both sides of the Lemmat, which empties the lake into the Rhine . 
The ragged, snowy Alps tower high beyond the southern end of the 
lake. Went to the reading-room, and found the New York Herald, and 
various English papers. Am looking for letters to night. Shall I not 
devour them? 

Evening. Kept my bed till seven. I read God's word and bowed in 
prayer, with my window open, not like Daniel, towards Jerusalem, but 
like your husband, towards Boston. It is a refreshing thought, that six 
or seven hours hence you will remember me before God my preserver. 
It is good to trust in him at all times, and to pour out the heart be- 
fore him. 

June 2. Another mail has come in, and no letter. Well, I can wait 
for the next. It is " Ascension Day." The shops are closed, and the 
people throng the churches. It seems like a New England Sabbath. 
Kept quiet till towards evening, then took a cup of tea with bread and 
honey ; and as, in the condition of my health, I could not walk, and, as I 
greatly needed fresh air, I went on board of a gondola just under my 
window, and was rowed a few miles up the lake. I was alone, and 
made the excursion in silence. The lake lies in the form of a crescent, 
between high hills. The shores are lined with pretty villages, and the 
slopes of the hills, highly cultivated, are dotted with white dwellings that 
have an air of thrift and elegance. Along the south and south-west 
horizon tower the mighty Alps, looking rough and cold. The descend- 
ing sun was hot, but I was sheltered by an awning. I made an effort to 
enjoy the scenery, and partially succeeded; but I wanted some one to 
whom I could speak a single sentence. 

Evening. At six o'clock I was walking in front of the hotel, and form- 
ing my plans for leaving to-morrow, when I saw the postman coming. 
I sprang towards him, and at once caught sight of a letter bearing my 
name. The letter had stopped at Basel, and only by a kind Providence 
had reached me. 

Lucerne, June 4. I left Zurich this morning quite too much indis- 
posed to journey, and yet hoping that change of scene might revive me. 
The direct distance was only about forty miles, and yet, to avoid the dili- 
gence, I came by rail through Baden, Aarau, and Olten, nearly a hundred 



286 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

miles. The route was through beautiful valleys shut in by snow- 
covered mountains. I am very happily disappointed in this part 
of Switzerland. There is much of industry and thrift. The people 
interest me more than any I have yet seen. I am at the Gasthof zum 
Schuanen, with a room looking up the lake, a beautiful sheet of water, 
blue as the Rhone, embosomed in high mountains. Before me, too, is 
the Rhigi, of which you heard the B.'s speak. I can see distinctly the 
hotel on the summit. 

June 5. This is my seventh Sabbath away. It rains, and the clouds 
cover all the mountains. Alone in my chamber I have read Psalms 
xlii.-xlviii. Never before have I so valued and relished the blessed 
Bible. By it my Father speaks to me words of instruction and com- 
fort. This has been the happiest Sabbath since I left home. Though 
very unwell, I have found my chamber a Bethel. My thoughts rise out 
of this deep mountain dell, and cross over the land and sea, and look 
into your chamber, and then into my study ; but they are empty. I fol- 
low you to the sanctuary at the morning service. But how soon the 
sweet charm is broken ! I turn to my window. The rain has ceased ; 
the sun is coming out ; Rhigi is in sight ; a little steamer is coming up to 
the quay ; the blue lake is as smooth as a mirror. I am not in Boston ; 
I am in the heart of Switzerland, not far, on the one hand, from where 
Zwingle preached the doctrine of the Reformation, and finally fell in a 
battle ; and on the other, from the spot where "William Tell perished in 
his struggle for his country's freedom. You are hearing the word of 
God. I am gazing on the works of God. Both teach the same lessons 
as to the divine power ; each is the interpreter of the other. The Lord 
bless you, and fill your heart with his love. 

To his wife. 

Geneva, June 9, 1859. 

My last was from Lucerne, Sunday evening. The next morning I 
started on a little steamer for an excursion up the lake. The scenery 
of this lake is said to be unsurpassed by any in Switzerland. It is very 
irregular in shape, and presents views of the mountains both grand, 
awfully grand, and beautiful beyond description. Both shores are 
marked by places of historic interest connected with the life and ex- 
ploits of William Tell, of whom, in my boyhood, I read ^ much. At 
Fluelen, the head of the lake, we took a carriage, and rode up along a 
rapid torrent to Buglen, Tell's birthplace, and where, in a humane 
attempt to rescue a drowning child, he perished in the swollen flood. 
At Altdorf, a little below, we saw the spot from which, at the command 
of the tyrant Gessler, he shot with his cross-bow, at eighty yards, the 
apple from the head of his little son. Ill as I was, I enjoyed the excur- 



COEEESPONDENCE. 287 

sion. The pleasure was augmented on our return by the company of a 
schoolmaster and fifty boys, who sang Swiss songs, and made the moun- 
tains echo with their melody. Eeturned at sunset. At nine the cathe- 
dral bell, on which is the mediaeval inscription, " Vivos voco, mortuos 
plango, fulgura frango," rang out over lake and mountain. In the 
morning decided to proceed to Berne, seventy-five miles by railway, 
with the intention, if possible, of proceeding to Interlaken. Left 
Lucerne with many pleasant recollections. The route to Berne was 
through most interesting scenery, but the inflammation in my eyes, 
occasioned yesterday by the reflection of the sun from the snow, would 
not allow the feast. 

Wednesday morning. Though I did not finish up Switzerland, I felt 
that a regard for my health required rest, and needed treatment, and I 
took the first train for Nidau, on the Bielu Lake, thence by steamer 
down Lake Neufchatel to Yverdun, and from that place to Geneva by 
rail. From Lake Neufchatel are some of the finest views of the Alpine 
range ; but I could not stay on deck. Between Lausanne and Geneva 
we had a most terrific thunder-storm. Came to the Hotel des Bergues, 
and took a room on the third floor front, and retired. You will see by 
the papers what a terrible battle was fought last Saturday, on ground 
over which we passed April 2, 1841, between Milan and Novara. The 
French and Sardinians are driving back the Austrians, and all Western 
Europe is rejoicing. I am glad enough to be out of the regions where 
the sympathy is with Austria, and where travellers are constantly an- 
noyed. Next to home, I am now where I would be. 

Yesterday, the Emperor of France and the King of Sardinia entered 
Milan in great pomp. All the talk here is of the war. To me, exulta- 
tion over such butchery of human beings is horrible. O, the brutality 
of man ! Nothing so tests my faith in the prophecies as travelling 
among these millions. < Will Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France ever 
be converted to Christ? 

June 11. This morning it was pleasant, and I went to the city library 
to see what I always regretted I did not see when here before — the por- 
traits and manuscripts of the great reformers, Wickliffe, Huss, -Luther, 
Melanchthon, Calvin, Beza, Zwingle, &c, &c. The hour spent there 
was one of great interest. 

June 12. At ten A. M. went to St. Peter's Church, and had a seat 
near where you and I sat April 11, 1841. The services were such as 
you remember — the same old organ and congregational singing, the 
pauses in the sermon, &c. Then I walked for an hour in the Protes- 
tant cemetery — a rural spot, full of trees, shrubbery, and flowers. 
Saw the graves of John Calvin, Sir Humphry Davy, and several 
Americans. 



288 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

To his wife. 

Brussels, July 4, 1859. 

Dr. Bigelow advised me not to undertake the journey ; but as I was 
anxious, if possible, to intercept Mr. and Mrs. H., who had informed me 
they were coming to the Continent by way of Belgium, I left Paris 
without a regret. On Saturday came here by the express train in eight 
hours. 

I am at the Hotel de Saxe, a quiet, airy house. Have a room on the 
" premiere etage," looking into a court filled with shrubbery and singing 
birds. Yesterday I kept quiet until towards evening, when I walked to 
thfe cathedral, Place des Martyrs, Grand Place, Place des Congres, the 
Botanical Garden, and saw much to admire. 

This is Independence Day, and with a party of English and Ameri- 
cans, I have been to Waterloo. This has been one of my most interest- 
ing excursions. We passed two hours walking over the famous battle- 
field where the great Napoleon's sun of glory set in blood, June 11, 
1815. An old English soldier, who was in the battle, explained every- 
thing intelligibly. 

I like Brussels. The upper part of the city is beautiful, and here I 
have a more contented and home-like feeling. 

To his wife. 

London, July 11, 1859. 

The treatment of Dr. B. in Paris was very successful. My visit to 
Belgium, where I met friends, Mr. and Mrs. H., Mr. and Mrs. P., and 
the B.'s, contributed greatly to my happiness. 

On Friday, the 8th, went on board steamer Rhine, passed down the 
River Scheldt seventy-two miles, then across the German Ocean, and up 
the Thames, arriving in London Saturday, at nine A. M. Was kindly 
welcomed by Mrs. Moore, and assigned a room looking westward — 
homeward. 

Sunday morning I went with three American gentlemen to Surrey 
Garden, to hear Mr. Spurgeon. What a congregation ! Having a shil- 
ling ticket, I bad a good seat in the lower gallery. Though we were 
there an hour before the service, yet two thousand people were already 
seated. 

I tried to repress all curiosity, and worship God. Mr. Spurgeon was 
suffering from hoarseness, and evidently spoke with pain. I could 
sympathize with him, and must not give my impression of the man's 
preaching, for it is hardly just to criticise a speaker with an inflamed 
throat. I hope to hear him again. The congregational singing was 
grand. I have heard many of the best organs on the Continent, bat 



CORRESPONDENCE. 289 

none of them gave me such music as swelled from these ten thousand 
voices. They sang New Tiverton and the German Hymn. 

Monday morning I went to the Mission House, and had a pleasant 
interview with Mr. Underhill, one of the secretaries. Then, by invita- 
tion, went at eleven A. M. to breakfast with the delegates from the 
Young Men's Christian Association of Great Britain. There was intro- 
duced to the Earl of Shaftesbury, and heard him speak. 

We here have family worship at Mrs. Moore's, and she has appointed 
me chaplain. How precious the privilege, after the privation of nearly 
three months ! 

July 12. I dined with the Underwood family to-day. It was so good 
to sit down with a Christian family, and talk of the interests of Christ's 
kingdom ! With what relish shall I return to my proper work — precious 
home-laboring for the spiritual good of my people ! 

Pray for me, that I may profit by this absence. 

To Deacon H. Lincoln. 

London, July 17, 1859. 

I should have written you more frequently but for the sadness of 
heart with which I have been oppressed. You have enough of that ele- 
ment without any addition from me. 

While last at Paris, I had the benefit of medical treatment that was 
of essential service to me, so that I went to Belgium with some com- 
fort. In London I am forming acquaintances with good men of vari- 
ous denominations, whom I admire and love. 

Ere this shall reach Boston (or Saratoga) you will have learned that 
on Monday last the two bull-dog emperors met and made peace. All 
Europe, glad enough to have peace, is indignant at the terms, and you 
may be sure the end is not yet. Napoleon III. has deceived the world, 
and will be called to account for his conduct. 

To his wife. 

London, July 25, 1859. 

To-day I have engaged passage in steamship Europa. Leaves 27th 
August. Happy day when I reach that dear home, around which my 
heart's affections tenaciously cling. 

Have several excursions to make before leaving London. I have 
visited the Crystal Palace, the British Museum, the Zoological Gardens, 
&c, &c, and, by the kindness of Sir S. M. Peto, M. P., spent an even- 
ing on the floor of the House of Commons. 

Have heard Baptist Noel, Dr. Cumming, Mr. Birrell, and Mr. Spurgeon 
again, and found many pleasant friends. I shall take your advice, seeing 
as much of England, Ireland, and Scotland as my time and funds per- 
19 



290 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

mit ; but my disappointment in regard to the East is keen. When I 
think of narrating, even to you, what I have seen, the sickening thought 
comes up, "I cannot tell of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, and Hebron, 
and the Jordan, and the Mount of Olives, &c, &c." 

Evening. Just taken a long walk, and visited one of the ragged 
schools. It will give me a pleasant hour with my people to tell them 
of this form of service. 

July 14. Have just read the death of young Nott, of New York; also 
Drs. Belcher and Harrison. They rest from their labors. " Blessed 
rest." 

July 28, Thursday evening. Early yesterday morning Drs. Phelps 
and Gillette, Dr. Child and myself, started by the North-western Kail- 
way for an excursion into the Midland counties. First we went to Bed- 
ford, and saw all the remaining memorials of John Bunyan ; then to 
Elstow, to the cottage in which he was born ; then to Cardington, the 
home of John Howard, the philanthropist; thence to Kettering, the 
scene of Andrew Fuller's labors ; this morning to Northampton, where 
we saw much in connection with Dr. Byland and Dr. Doddridge ; thence 
to Olney, to see the house, garden, and summer-house of the poet 
Cowper. 

Returned to London this evening, having travelled two hundred miles, 
and enjoyed two days of real pleasure. 

To his wife. 

London, Augusts, 1859. 

Last evening yours and M.'s of the 17th reached me. How great 
God's goodness in preserving us all, and giving us the prospect of a 
happy reunion in our dear home ! 

Saturday morning the B.'s arrived, and I am to have their company 
through Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and HOME. 

Sunday I heard Dr. Hamilton, Regent Square, in the morning, and 
Mr. Brock in the evening. Thus I have heard all the great guns in 
London. 

Warwick, August 3. This morning a party of four of us left the Pad- 
ington Station, and in one hour and twenty-five minutes were at Ox- 
ford, sixty-three miles from London. There we visited for three hours 
among the nineteen cojleges, seeing much of which I had. often read. 
Was deeply interested. 

At four P. M. we came, in one hour, — forty-three miles, — to this 
place, engaged rooms at a hotel, and then went to the castle, where we 
were taken through all the apartments of the Earl of Warwick, grounds, 
&c, &c. 

We have before us three weeks in which to see castles, cathedrals, 



CORRESPONDENCE. 291 

abbeys, parks, mountains, lakes, &c, &c, all of which I shall note, and 
try to remember for your benefit. 

Good night. 

Birmingham. We took a " fly" this morning, and drove to Stratford- 
on-Avon. There we entered the room where Shakespeare was born ; 
also the church where he was interred, and saw, in a private cabinet, a 
variety of articles that belonged to him. 

We walked over the Avon by the foot-bridge, and through the mead- 
ow, returning by another bridge, Saw all that was possible in two 
hours, then returned to Warwick, eight miles, and "by rail" twenty- 
two to Birmingham, stopping at Dee Royal Hotel, which you re- 
member. 

Early to-morrow morning we leave for York, one hundred and thirty 
miles north, to see the famous Minster ; then to Edinburgh, one hundred 
and seventy miles farther, there to pass the Sabbath, and hear some 
rare preaching. Shall keep full notes. Can hardly write you particu- 
lars. Hope for all when we meet. 

To his wife. 

August 14, 1859. 

Last Wednesday evening we left Edinburgh for Stirling, where we 
visited the famous old castle and other objects of interest. Then went 
by rail to Callender, and hired a carriage to take us through the Tros- 
achs, by the way of Loch Vennachar and Loch Orchray. A heavy rain 
obscured our view of the scenery. We stopped at the Trosachs Hotel, 
and proceeded, Friday morning, through the wild pass of the Trossachs 
to Loch Katrine, through which we passed in a small steamer, and 
viewed on either side the points rendered famous by Scott's Lady of the 
Lake. 

At Stronachlachar, the foot of Loch Katrine, we hired an open car- 
riage, and drove through Rob Roy's country to Inversnaid, on Loch 
Lomond, and visited the beautiful cascade, &c ; then came by steamer 
through the whole of Loch Lomond, thirty-five miles in extent. The 
scenery was very interesting. At Balloch we took the rail for Glasgow, 
passing near Dumbarton Castle, and along the Clyde to Glasgow. This 
is a city of three hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, and one of the 
most busy and prosperous in Great Britain. 

One thing charms me in Scotland — the perfect quietness of the Sab- 
bath. My room looks across one of the bridges, and up a long street. 
Not a wheeled vehicle do I see, and very few pedestrians. I look from 
my window down the quays on both sides of the river, full of shipping, 
but nothing is doing. How different all over the Continent ! Blessed 
be Scotland for her reverence for God's holy day ! I wish I could see 



292 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

Boston as quiet as is Glasgow to-day, and as one week ago I saw Edin- 
burgh ! 

We have yet to see portions of Ireland and North Wales, — a circuit 
of five hundred miles, — and then, — 

" Over the deep blue sea." 

Belfast, August 17. We left Glasgow yesterday, and came hither, 
first down the Clyde, then across the Irish Sea. The weather is so 
thick and damp I am prevented from going to the Giant's Causeway, as 
intended. I resign that pleasure, and attend a union prayer meeting, 
where I shall learn many facts respecting the powerful revival now pre- 
vailing in Belfast and other parts of Ulster. 

To-morrow we go to Dublin, where we stop until Monday, and then 
proceed to North Wales. 

Three weeks from to-night I hope to be with you, never to separate 
again — no, never till death. 

Before commencing a new chapter, pursuing the plan which 
we have carried out in the previous pages of this Memoir, we 
lay before our readers extracts from the correspondence of 
the last two or three years. 

To Mrs. Partridge. 

Boston, February 12, 1856. 

I am not a stranger to the exercises which you describe. My ministry 
of nearly twenty-nine years has led me into contact with many minds 
similarly troubled, and all my knowledge of the human heart, of Satan's 
devices, and of God's dealings with his children, has been thoroughly 
tested in my efforts to enlighten and comfort the suffering. Some 
cases have been on my hands for months, and both my intellect and my 
heart have been tested to their utmost in labors to facilitate their deliv- 
erance. More than this, I have personal experience of the same sor- 
rows, and know their bitterness. O, how often have I prepared and 
preached sermons for the instruction and the comforting of others, 
when I had not the light of God's countenance, and feared lest I should 
myself be a castaway ! 

In my own case, I have ordinarily found relief just as I did at first, 
in December, 1818, by a full submission of myself to the will of God. 
Sensible of my utter unworthiness and vileness, I saw but one refuge. 
I was shut up to the faith of one remedy. The Saviour said, " Come 
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
" Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." By coming to 
him, just as 1 was, helpless and. dependent, and relying upon him as 



COMFORT TO A DISTRESSED SOTJL. 293 

" mighty to save" I have always found him true to his word. He gave 
me rest. He did not reject me. He " came into the world to save sin- 
ners." He died and rose again to save sinners. "He ever liveth to 
make intercession for us." " Looking unto Jesus" has been my only 
resource. It never yet failed. 

In dealing with others, however confident I have been of their safe 
estate, I have never undertaken to convince them that they were Chris- 
tians, for they would baffle me in every argument, and I would thus do 
them no good. My uniform endeavor has been to present scriptural 
views of the character of God, and of the plan of salvation, and to get 
them to go to Christ as sinners, and believe in Him who is both able and 
willing to save the worst. Nothing is gained by raking over the rubbish 
of past experience for some ground of hope. All that is a dishonor 
done to Christ. He is our Saviour to-day, and he only. The soul, in 
all its stages of experience, must look away from everything else to him, 
and cast itself wholly on him. All along our course to heaven's gate 
there is one direction, with one promise — " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
CJirist, and thou shalt be saved." " Only believe" and the blessing is 
sure. 

O, my dear suffering sister, my heart bleeds for you. Fain would I 
lead you to Jesus. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the 
sin of the world." Do not offend him by doubting either his ability or 
his willingness to save you. Look to his cross, and see how much he 
loved you. At the foot of that cross lay yourself, with all your bur- 
dens, and fears, and griefs. 

" Just as I am, without one plea, 
But that thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, 
O Lamb of God, I come." 

There, my loved and loving sister, is your only help. One act of 
faith in Jesus Christ will do for you what all the universe cannot do 
apart from it. The simple question, then, is, Will you trust Christ as 
your all? Methinks I hear you firmly say, " I will." The contest is 
ended. The burden rolls off. You have peace. You cast yourself at 
the feet of your Deliverer, and pour out the tears of gratitude, and 
promise that, by his grace, you will never again look elsewhere for com- 
fort. 

" I cannot half his love express ; 
Yet, Lord, with joy my lips confess, 
This blessed portion 1 possess, 
O Lamb of God, in thee. 



294 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

To the same. 

Boston, March 2, 1856. 

I wrote you on the 12th ult. in answer to yours of the 7th. Since 
then you have seldom been out of my mind, and I am hoping to hear 
that the clouds have all cleared away from your horizon, and that you 
have the clear shining of the Sun of righteousness. My daily prayer 
has been that God would lift upon you the light of his countenance, 
and, as " the God of hope," fill you with all joy and peace in believing. 

I have lately been unusually interested in Psalm ciii., and have 
preached upon parts of it, especially from the eleventh to the eighteenth 
verses inclusive. My general theme has been the greatness of God's 
mercy to his people — its height, verse eleven ; its breadth, verse twelve ; 
its depth, verse thirteen; its duration in contrast with the brevity of 
human life, verses fifteen to eighteen. His is " loving-kindness and ten- 
der mercy." How much of it we have experienced ! Well does David 
say, " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Now 
I remember that the first time I ever heard our dear, precious mother 
speak in meeting she quoted these words. It was at the house of " Father 
Kibbey," in December, 1818, just after I had spoken, avowing my hope 
in Christ, and my purpose to live a new life. She rose and commenced 
with that language. O, how fresh in my memory her looks, her tones 
of voice, at that moment ! Dear mother, may I not fail to reach that 
blissful world where thou dost bless the Lord, and forget none of his 
benefits ! And really, how can we here omit to bless him ? How can 
we forget his mercies ? The tendency of my own mind is to depression. 
I look too much on the dark side of everything, and am not grateful, as 
I should be, for God's constant goodness and abounding grace. I have 
often to stir up my inner nature by recounting my many mercies, and 
■ calling upon all within me to praise the Lord. I am always the hap- 
piest when I am most thankful. Is not gratitude the spirit of heaven ? 

To the same. 

Boston, April 21, 1856. 

Our paths have lain through different scenes — some joyous, some 
afflictive ; but God has led us every step of the way. Not more cer- 
tainly did he conduct Israel in the wilderness, than he has guided, and 
protected, and provided for us — now more than half a century. A 
review of his paternal care and goodness ought not only to awaken our 
gratitude, but also to inspire our confidence. His object, manifest at 
ten thousand points, has been to bring us to " a city of habitation." I 
have just been reading Newton's hymn, 166 in the Social Psalmist, — 

" Begone, 'unbelief; my Saviour is near," &e. 



TRUE SOLACE UNDER SPIRITUAL TRIALS. 295 

And I can adopt it, and so can you. I have suffered much in my own 
mind during the last six months. Some of the time I have felt as if 
passing through the valley of the shadow of death. But the Great 
Shepherd has not forsaken me, and though vile and unworthy, I have 
his promise that he will never leave nor forsake me. Can I not trust 
him? Is not his grace sufficient for me? Is not his character, as re- 
vealed in Christ, a rock of repose? When I look at Calvary I see my 
blessed Redeemer left in darkness, and I hear him cry, " My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " No answer was returned. But I 
understand that he hung there in anguish and spiritual gloom for my 
sake. He was forsaken that I might not be forsaken. Justice will not 
put the cup to my lips which my Lord has drained to the dregs for my 
benefit. 

O, my sister, do we realize what a Saviour we have ? Has he not 
borne all for our sakes ? What less can we do than trust him with all 
our hearts? Could I see you, how would I preach to you " Jesus and 
the resurrection " ! There is in him a fullness that " passeth knowl- 
edge." Who can comprehend its height or depth, its breadth or length? 
Let us believe in him. Let our simple faith be the conduit through 
which his grace shall glow into our souls, thus filling us " with all the 
fullness of God." If I am a believer, I am "the least of all saints; " 
but I do see a glory in the once crucified, now exalted, Jesus, and I 
long to love and serve him better than I do. I come short every day of 
my duty, and even of my purposes. Constantly I have occasion to say, 
" God be merciful to me a sinner; " and he is merciful. He multiplies 
pardons ; he does what he requires of us, forgiving seventy times seven. 
Thus the saving process goes on by repentance and faith, repentance 
and faith, all the way through. Only by " looking unto Jesus " have we 
peace and joy. 

" When I turn my thoughts within, 
All is dark, and vain, and wild." 

But when I look to Him who bled for me, and now intercedes for me, 
then I have hope. I am nothing. He is " all and in all." How glo- 
rious the assurance, " Ye are complete in him" ! " His blood cleanseth 
us from all sin." O Christ, I cling to thee as my only hope ! What 
shall separate me from thy love? Hast thou not said, " Because I live, 
ye shall live also"? Lord, help me to trust thee without wavering, to 
follow thee, however dark and difficult the pathway in which thou mayst 
lead me. 



296 MEMOIR OP DK. STOW. 

To the same. 

Boston, February 7, 1857. 

A pastor called on one of his parishioners, Justin the dusk of the even- 
ing, and found a little boy sitting in the doorway, holding firmly a string, 
and looking up into the deepening gloom. " What are you doing here, 
my little friend? " said the minister. " I am flying my kite, sir," re- 
plied the boy. " Your kite ?" said the minister. "I see no kite, and 
you can see none." " I know it," quickly answered the little fellow ; 
" but I am sure it is there, for I feel it pull." 

It is often thus with the Christian. He is interested in something 
above him. All is gloom; he can see nothing; but his affections are 
attached to heavenly things ; and so long as he feels these heavenly 
things pulling upward, he knows that the connection is not dissolved. 
One of the most difficult of Christian attainments is to trust God in the 
dark. What though we see him not? What though he is silent ? Yet, 
if our hand is in his, if he holds us up, and leads us, and throws around 
us his paternal care, why should we not be assured of his love? We 
must not choose in disregard of his will ; we must not dictate as to the 
manifestations with which we will be satisfied. " Not as I will, but as 
thou wilt," is the example set us by Him who redeemed us. 

Gur hope is said to be " as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stead- 
fast. An anchor that is seen renders no service ; but when it is unseen, 
down many fathoms beyond the reach of vision, it has hold of the bot- 
tom of the troubled sea, and there it is useful. '* Hope that is seen is 
not hope," &c. Rom. viii. 24, 25. We must not expect " open vis- 
ion " in this world. " We see through a glass darkly." " We walk by 
faith, not by sight." " Whom, not having seen, ye love." We must 
learn to trust and obey, for those are the fundamental elements of all 
personal godliness. I remember, while our dear father was ill — I think 
in 1815 — he read the Life and Diary of David Brainerd. One morning 
very early, as Royal and I lay in the trundle-bed, I was awake, and 
overheard father say to mother that he thought Brainerd " made too 
much account of frames and feelings, for his hope rose and fell with his 
happiness or unhappiness." That remark I have pondered much in my 
heart. Hope is the effect of faith. Joys are incidental things, of very 
little worth as evidence of Christian character. " Therefore being 
justified by faith," &e. Rom. v. 1. 

To Rev. C. W. Flanders. 

Boston, February 11, 1857. 

It has been said that " the sanctuary of private grief is sacred." Rec- 
ognizing this truth, I am slow to obtrude my foot within such a sanc- 
tuary, lest, with the best intentions, I might trespass upon territory con- 



THE SYMPATHIZING HEART. 297 

secrated to heart sorrows. But I remember the inspired requirement, 
"Weep with them that weep; " and I remember, too, the golden rule, 
" All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you," &c. 

You do not, I am sure, lack for sympathizers in your repeated afflic- 
tions ; but I cannot forbear to volunteer the assurance to you, as one whom 
I have learned to love, that my heart has been touched by the informa- 
tion of your double bereavement. You feel yourself stricken by the 
hand of God. As a brother I would fain place myself by your side, and 
say or do anything that might assuage your anguish, or encourage you 
patiently to endure. Accustomed as you are to administer consolation 
to others, and familiar as you are with that magazine of comforts, the 
Bible, I need not refresh your memory with the many " exceeding great 
and precious promises " which abound in true solace to the afflicted. 
Your mind has reverted to them all ; you have applied them all ; you 
have found them equal to all the purposes for which you have com- 
manded them. You know the way to the mercy-seat. You have gone 
thither for light and peace, and there God, your own God, has met and 
blessed you. 

Ministers, like other Christians, are often afflicted for their own good, 
but perhaps quite as frequently for the benefit of their people — 2 Cor. 
i. 4-6. Henceforth, my dear brother, you will be able more tenderly 
and deeply to sympathize with the sufferings of your flock. You will 
better understand the Scriptures, and therefore you will be a better 
preacher. After all, there is no theology for either the pulpit or for 
pastoral visitation like the experimental. The Saviour, whom we com- 
mend, was "made perfect through sufferings." His most useful ser- 
vants are perfected in the same way. There are souls like the alabas- 
ter vase of ointment, very precious, which shed no perfume of holiness, 
because a great sorrow has never broken them. Great good may yet 
accrue to your flock from this discipline, and consequently great glory 
to your Lord. 

To Rev. K M. Williams. 

Boston, April 20, 1857. 

Your allusion to your dear father touched me tenderly. I loved him ; 
I respected him; and, during the long period of our acquaintance, I 
always felt that I should like to pass my eternity with " a great multi- 
tude " of just such as N. W. Williams — the more the better. It grati- 
fies me to know that his children do not forget their father's friend. 
Your note, now before me, is indicative of a feeling which he, in nu- 
merous instances, manifested towards me in seasons of trial, and which 
often cheered me to endure patiently the burdens of life. In the de- 
parture of such men as your father, Dr. Sharp, Dr. Bolles, Professor 



298 MEMOIR OF DK. STOW. 

Knowles, Mr. Jacobs, &c, I have looked around for the ministers in 
whom I could equally confide, and from whom, in my afflictions, I could 
hope for words and acts assuring me that their vacancies were likely to 
be supplied. In you I have not been disappointed, and I cannot give 
you a better testimony than by saying that you do not dishonor the 
name of Nathaniel. May the richest blessing of Him who saw one of 
that name " under the fig tree " rest ever upon you and all yours. 

To all the Saints in Christ Jesus which are at Bowe Street, 

JBoston. 
" Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and 
the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remem- 
brance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all 
making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel 
from the first day until now ; being confident of this very 
thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will 
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ : even as it is meet 
for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my 
heart ; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and 
confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in 
the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love 
may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judg- 
ment ; that ye may approve things that are excellent ; that 
ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ ; 
being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by 
Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." 

Beloved in Christ Jesus : Though I am one of the un- 
worthiest of pastors, yet from my heart I can adopt these 
apostolic sentences ; and they express my feelings more ac- 
curately than any language that I can frame. My interest 
in you is not abated by absence, or by any measure of per- 
sonal suffering. For your peace, your purity, your growth in 
grace, your love one to another, your zeal and usefulness in 
the cause of our common Master, I daily, hourly pray. In 
all your gatherings for public or social worship, I am with 
you in spirit. How gladly I would be with you in person, 
God is mv record. No oue of you, I fondly presume, im- 



PASTORAL ADDRESS. 299 

agines that I am away seeking my own gratification. I love 
my home and its endearments too well ; and I love my work, 
with all its cares and responsibilities, too well to be unneces- 
sarily absent, an idle exile, rendering to no one any service, 
and cut off from almost every social enjoyment. Were I 
able to do for you more than I can do here, forty-eight hours 
would show me among you, doing it to the extent of my 
ability. I am here the prisoner of Providence, and, though 
not, I hope, sinfully impatient, yet I long to be loosed from 
these bonds, that I may go to my own company. The word 
of the Lord is as a fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary 
of forbearing, and I would fain be preaching to you the un- 
searchable riches of Christ. This, I trust, will yet be my 
privilege ; for, though I have not thus far derived much bene- 
fit from my experiment, I am still hopeful as to the ultimate 
result. When I left home, I thought it probable that I might 
return in four weeks, and so be with you at our next church 
meeting. Of that privilege I am likely to be denied. When 
I shall be able to resume labor is quite uncertain. I am in 
the hands of Him whose I am and whom I serve. I desire 
to be submissive to his will. Let us lay the whole case before 
his throne, and say, in the spirit of the resigned Sufferer who 
bore for us the cross, "Father, glorify thy name." The 
delay, I trust, will not be long. Pray for me, that I may be 
wisely directed, and humbly patient. 

For some days you have been occupied with the anniver- 
saries. Would that I could hope to find you benefited by 
their influence! My own experience has taught me that, 
apart from special watchfulness, the effect of such meetings 
is to dissipate the minds of Christians, and thus be unfavora- 
ble to their spirituality. God grant that the meetings in 
Boston may leave behind them a savor wholly good, con- 
tributing to your individual holiness. In my seclusion, I 
know very little of what has been said or done. My prayer 
throughout has been that God would direct his servants in 
all things, and give them largely of the spirit of their un- 
selfish Master. 



300 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

I can report nothing of interest, for I see very few persons, 
and hear comparatively nothing from the ministers and 
churches in this latitude. I have attended public worship 
once each Sabbath, and found it good to wait upon God in 
his house ; but I have met with very little that reminds me of 
Howe Street, except by dissimilarity and contrast. 

Dear brethren and sisters, do you appreciate your priv- 
ileges ? Are you grateful for the " goodly heritage " which 
the Lord has given you ? Are you living and laboring for 
Him who has so peculiarly distinguished you, and crowned 
you with so many tokens of his loving kindness ? Do you 
bring forth the fruits of grace in a godly life, and in efforts to 
advance the Redeemer's kingdom ? Do you desire the sal- 
vation of souls, and prove it by prayers of faith and labors of 
love? How much do you know of self-denial and cross- 
bearing for Christ's sake ? Are you all walking in the narrow 
way that leadeth unto life ? Are you actually following 
Christ, and does the world see that you resemble him, and 
are every month becoming more like him ? 

" Let every man prove his own work ; then shall he have 
rejoicing in himself, and not in another." 

Accept this, dear Christian friends, as a very imperfect 
token of my interest in your welfare. " May the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." 

Your truly affectionate pastor, 

Baron Stow. 

Baltimore, May 20, 1857. 



RECORD OF WORK RE-COMMENCED. 301 



CHAPTER XX. 

Ministerial Work recommenced. — Discouragements. — Reminis- 
cences of Anniversary Periods. — The Dark Days op the 
War. — Conflicts of Feeling. — A happy Surprise. — Journal. 
— Criticisms on Robertson, Bowles, and Hugo. — Views on 
"Evangelism." — Ravages of Death. — Review. 

1859-1866. 

So far as personal comfort was concerned, Dr. Stow did 
not derive the pleasure from his second trip abroad that he 
did from his first. He was poorly fitted to travel alone. His 
heart craved the companionship of congenial spirits, and the 
absence of the religious associations to which he had so long 
been accustomed made him sigh for his home, and the round 
of religious duties, in the discharge of which he found his 
chief joy. It was out of a soul overflowing with grateful 
emotions that he wrote in his journal, September 12, 1859, — 

First Sabbath at home. It was good to reenter the loved sanctuary, 
and conduct the worship of my loved people. Though the day has been 
rainy, the attendance has been large. Preached in the morning from 
Psalm ciii. 2; afternoon, from Psalm xlii. 1, 2; evening, occupied an 
hour in sketches of the great revival in Ireland and Scotland. It has 
been a good day. O, how sweet to be at home ! 

And now recommences the record of his work, so similar 
in many respects to what we have already laid before our 
readers, and yet each event recorded having about it some 
peculiar interest, which, in his view, made it stand out promi- 
nent from all the other events of his life of multifarious toil in 
the vineyard of his Master. He makes a statement under date 
of February 12, 1860, which, we doubt not, was one of great 
sadness to him — that for ten months he had not had among 



302 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

his people a single earnest inquirer ; and he adds that such a 
period he had not known in a ministry of thirty-eight years. 
In addition to this want of the visible fruits of his ministerial 
work, which weighed so heavily upon his spirits, there were 
other things also which depressed him. Some of the causes 
which had operated in leading him to resign his pastoral 
charge at Baldwin Place Church were at work in making 
Rowe Street a less inviting field of labor. Commerce was 
pressing its irresistible way into the locality, and in almost 
every direction, massive warehouses were rising from their 
granite foundations, and forcing the families which had lived 
in the neighborhood of the church to seek for homes in other 
parts of the city. Every year it might reasonably be ex- 
pected that the burdens would rest more heavily upon those 
who could not feel that the time had come to abandon the 
locality in which, for so many years, they had found their re- 
ligious home. Many persons from sincere convictions that 
the time for removal had not come, and many from ardent 
attachment to the spot endeared to them by so many hal- 
lowed associations, could not make up their minds that they 
must turn away from the sanctuary they so much loved, to 
rear in another section a temple for the worship of their 
God and Saviour. Meanwhile the most casual observer could 
not fail to see that the vital forces of the religious society 
were being weakened, and a feeling of discouragement was 
creeping over the hearts of both pastor and people. The 
position of any church situated as the Rowe Street Church 
was beginning to be, is trying in the extreme. Dr. Stow 
loved his church, and they loved him. But neither could 
blind their eyes to the true position of affairs. Neither the 
fidelity and earnestness of the pastor, nor the desire of the 
church to cooperate with him in laudable methods for the pro- 
motion of the cause of Christ, could change the laws of social 
life, or modify the action of the causes which were at work in 
turning a section of the city, once the home of a large number 
of families, into the marts of trade and the scene of a busy 
activity, to meet the all-engrossing demands of a prosperous 



ANXIVEESAEY OCCASIONS. 303 

commerce. The Rowe Street Church, like several other 
churches in its neighborhood, was obliged at last to yield to 
the pressure, and to remove to another locality ; but in reach- 
ing the conclusion to do this, it is hardly possible for us to 
realize what a struggle it cost. 

We have noticed how much Dr. Stow made of anniver- 
saries — periods of peculiar interest in his life and experi- 
ence. Among the most prominent of these, to which, in the 
journal of almost every year, he makes special allusion, are 
the day of his birth, that of the death of his father, for whose 
memory he ever cherished the most profound reverence and 
affection, and the days of his baptism and ordination. In like 
manner the anniversary of his marriage was always alluded 
to with the most tender interest, and he is ever thanking God 
that he gave to him the wife of his choice, whose love for him 
had never wavered. 

In the following record he alludes to several of these pe- 
riods, which he loved to recall : — 

June 16. Fifty-nine years ago to-day my mother gave me birth. 
Thirty-eight years ago to-day I left dear home for "Washington, to pur- 
sue my studies in the Columbian College. Nineteen years ago to-day 
I returned, with ray dear wife, from my first trip to Europe. One year 
ago to-day I was travelling, lonely and sick, from Geneva to Chamouni. 
Forty-one years ago Wednesday, the 13th, I preached my first ser- 
mon, at the age of eighteen. Since then I have labored very imperfect- 
ly, but God has blessed my poor endeavors beyond my expectations. 

November 21. Anniversary of my dear father's death. Forty years 
in heaven ! Does he know I am thinking of him ? How grateful I feel 
for his counsels of wisdom, guiding my youthful feet in the paths of 
purity and peace ! I do not register my thoughts at the remembrance 
of my dear mother. She died far away, and the picture of her depart- 
ure was never imprinted on my memory. Would that it were ! She 
was beloved by me, as was my father. Her faithfulness to me, her ef- 
forts for my welfare, her sacrifices for my good, her holy examples, her 
godly teachings, I can never, never forget. She has been more than 
fourteen years in heaven. The memory of my parents is precious. 

The course of events has brought us to the dark and try- 
ing period in our national history, when the horrors of civil 



304 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

war cast a black pall of gloom over the whole land. Famil- 
iar although the story may be to the readers of this Memoir, 
they may be glad to know how the exciting times on which 
we are now entering affected so devout and earnest a spirit 
as that of Dr. Stow. Under date of December 3, 1860, he 
writes, — 

The political excitement is becoming more violent, and ominous of 
bad results. Lord, lay thy restraining hand upon madmen, and let them 
not involve our country in disaster. O, what aspects do we see of hu- 
man nature ! 

December 15. The cloud over our country daily grows thicker and 
darker. I see not how we are to avoid a rupture of the bonds of our 
Union, and consequent civil war. "None of the men of might have 
found their hands." We have no Clay or Webster to step in with their 
healing counsels. For years our ablest statesmen have been thrown 
into the background, and third-rate men have been put forward — dema- 
gogues lacking wisdom and moral principle, men who could raise a 
whirlwind, but knew not how to control it. 

Our help is in God alone ; but I fear the people will not humble them- 
selves, and seek his interposition. In their madness they have forsaken 
him, and it appears as if he might leave us to our destruction. Would 
that we might have national fastings and prayers ! We are a " sinful 
nation," laden with iniquity, and must repent and turn to God, or we 
are undone. 

December 16. Such is the state of the people's minds with reference 
to our political and financial troubles, that preaching the gospel is quite 
useless. The prospect before us is gloomy indeed. In my day there 
has been nothing like it. 

December 17. The president has appointed Friday, January 4, 1861, 
as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, with reference to the pres- 
ent condition of our country. Will the people regard this summons? 
Will they bow before God, and implore his interposition ? 

December 18. My mind is distracted and worried by public calami- 
ties. O, to realize in personal experience the truth, "Thou wilt keep 
him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee : because he trusteth 
in thee." 

A convention is now in session in South Carolina, and is to-day ex- 
pected to pass the fatal ordinance of secession from the Union. O God, 
appear in that convention, and give the members a better mind ! 
Change their counsels, and save our land from the fearful effects of 
their contemplated rashness. Our hope is in thee alone. Forsake us 
not utterly. 



JOUBNAL. ' 305 

January 4, 1861. National fast. We have met three times to-day to 
pray for our country. Our meetings were eminently satisfactory. The 
prayers were appropriate, fervent, and in harmony. 

January 11. In union with Christians throughout the world, we have 
observed this as a week of prayer. The great burden of petition has 
been for " our distracted country." Every evening we have laid our 
requests before Him who only can help us. Every day the darkness 
thickens. 

January 16. Reading Mailer's Life of Trust — a most remarkable 
book. It is a lesson to this age. God bless it to me. 

March 4. To-day Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, is to be inaugurated 
President of the United — alas ! now dis-united — States. Unprece- 
dented interest is felt in the programme of policy which he will indicate 
of his administration. His position is one of great difficulty, and much 
prayer has been offered for him that he may have wisdom from above. 
My only consolation is, that " the Lord reigneth." Never have I seen 
the foolishness of human wisdom so perfectly illustrated as during the 
four months of our national troubles. What a spectacle have we pre- 
sented to the nations of the old world ! 

April 13. The war is begun ! Yesterday morning the secessionist 
forces commenced an attack on Fort Sumter, at Charleston, S. C. This 
is but the beginning of an end known only to God. My heart sickens 
at the prospect. 

April 17. The excitement is deep and all-pervading in the free states. 
The determination is earnest to sustain the government. This evening 
a regiment of volunteers passed our door on their way to Washington 
for the protection of the capital, which is threatened by the secession- 
ists. My heart was sickened in France, in May, 1859, as I saw the 
troops moving by tens of thousands towards Italy ; but it was a sadder 
sight to see our young men going south, to kill and be killed. O God, 
interpose, and save my country from the horrors of civil war! 

April 19. " He shall not be afraid of evil- tidings ; his heart is fixed, 
trusting in the Lord." Every day brings evil tidings. Virginia has 
seceded, and other slave states are going. How precious now is the 
forty-sixth psalm ! I read it over and over. It is rich ! 

May 18. The preparations for armed conflict are becoming more 
and more formidable. God only knows what sorrows are to be multi- 
plied upon our unhappy country. I hope much from the prayers of 
our Christian people, who are bending devoutly and earnestly at the 
mercy-seat. May they pray like Jacob, and Moses, and Elijah, and 
Daniel. Lord, hear, and come and save us. 

June 10. No trial of strength, as yet, between the government troops 
and the secessionists. Great preparations have been made, and there 
will soon be collision. O, my heart sickens at the prospect. God of 
20 



306 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

mercy, look down upon us in pity, and stay the brutal passions of men. 
Is there no way to avoid bloodshed and desolation? Slavery, I am sure, 
is doomed, be the result of this contest as it may. But how can fighting 
bring about the love and amity necessary to the continuance of our Union 
as a nation ? Dark, dark to me is the future. Lord of mercy, help me to 
resign the whole matter into thy hands, and trust thy wisdom and faith- 
fulness. Help me to go on with my evangelical work with unwearied 
fidelity, and calmly await the developments of thy wise and holy provi- 
dence. Thou art above all, and doest all things well. I will trust, and 
not be afraid. 

June 17. I am sad. I cannot leave our national troubles wholly in 
the hands of God, and thus have rest and peace. I know I am often 
sinfully anxious and distrustful. O, for more of the tranquillity of faith ! 
I know that God will do right, and yet I wish him to do what / regard 
as right. When shall I reach the point where I shall be in full sympa- 
thy with my Master, and cordially, with no reservation, say, " Not my 
will, but thine be done ? " 

November 1. Eeceived a letter from my nephew, S. B. Partridge.* 
stating he is about to enter the United States army as a lieutenant. 
He graduated in August at Middlebury College, and had in view the 
work of the Christian ministry. His mother, brother, and sisters gave 
their full consent, believing that his duty lay in that direction. He 
goes with my blessing. Would that our armies were made up of such 
as he. 

March 8, 1862. On Thursday, President Lincoln sent a message to 
Congress bearing upon the question of Emancipation, — keeping carefully 
within constitutional limits, yet foreshadowing a policy to which, under 
certain conditions, it may be necessary to resort. This war cannot last 
much longer without an onset upon slavery, of the most determined 
character. The more carefully I watch the course of events, the more 
convinced am I that God has put his hand to that great question, — the 
underlying cause of all our present troubles, — and that he will in some 
way, vindicate the claims of four millions of slaves to be treated as 
human beings. 

May 24. The fate of the nation seems to me to be depending upon 
events now near at hand. I can do little else than pray for our armies, 
now on the eve of great conflicts. O for the "perfect peace" of him 
" whose mind is stayed" on God! Will he permit the cause of wrong 
to triumph? Lord, stand by our generals, and give them victory. My 
heart aches with solicitude. Lord, increase my faith ; enable me to trust, 
and not be afraid. I turn to the Bible, and find it sweeter than ever ! 
Precious book ! do I not love thee ? 

August 31. A sad, sad Sabbath! Soon after commencing public 

* Now a missionary to the Chinese at Bangkok, Si am. 



PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY. 307 

worship this morning I received a message from the surgeon general 
of the state, requesting me to dismiss my congregation, and set all my 
people at work preparing bandages, lint, and other hospital comforts for 
our wounded soldiers. The reports of the numbers killed and wounded 
yesterday and the day previous are appalling. I responded at once to 
the demand, and all are busy doing the needed work. At five o'clock 
this evening a train is to leave with surgeons, hospital stores, &c. "We 
are in an agony of suspense, — not knowing of either defeat or victory. 
O, how terrible this war ! 

At four P. M. I went to the Tremont Temple, and witnessed a most 
affecting scene — at least fifteen hundred women at work, making ban- 
dages, lint, compresses, &c. Men were assisting in various departments. 
From appearances, enough will be sent from Boston to meet the wants 
of thousands of poor sufferers. 1 thought of Christ's teachings — 
Matthew xii. 1-13, and Luke xiii. 10-17. What Sabbath service more 
acceptable to him than works of humanity? Dr. Reynolds said to me, 
" This is a glorious day! Here you have a demonstration of the spirit 
of your Lord and Master." As I looked on, I could not refrain from 
tears. My heart pronounced blessings upon these patriotic women. 

Amid these distracting scenes, as many of us vividly re- 
member, the pastors of our churches labored on, with but lit- 
tle, comparatively, to encourage them in their special religious 
work. Men's minds were necessarily preoccupied with mat- 
ters connected with the war; and in those terrible weeks and 
months of suspense, through which the country was passing, 
we may not wonder if, for the time, the higher spiritual inter- 
ests of the soul should be overlooked. " Nothing is plainer," 
writes Dr. Stow, "than that I am powerless. God only can 
move my people. Month after month I toil on, without know- 
ing that I do the least good." A little light seemed to dawn 
on the prospects of his church. A proposition had been made 
to unite with the Shawmut Avenue Church, then under the 
pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Parker ; and it was at one time seri- 
ously entertained, but was subsequently, and, as the event has 
shown, wisely abandoned. 

It is interesting to notice the phases through which the 
mind of Dr. Stow passed, as the fortunes of war turned on 
one side or the other. The writer remembers very distinctly 
conversing with him, the latter part of June, 1863, on the 



308 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

position of our national affairs, and finding him in a most 
discouraged mood of mind. Matters looked, he said, fearfully 
gloomy. He would be glad to take encouraging views, but 
where was he to turn for them ? The enemy, in strong force, 
was. moving across Maryland, above Harper's Ferry, into 
Pennsylvania, and the authorities did not seem to know at 
what they were aiming, whether Philadelphia, Baltimore, or 
Washington, or all together. Meanwhile, so far as it appeared, 
Hooker was doing nothing to resist them. A few days elapse, 
and, in exultant tones, he writes that the news is favorable 
from Pennsylvania. " To-day we hear of the fall of Vicks- 
burg, that stronghold, under General Pemberton, having sur- 
rendered to General Grant on the 4th of July. The last 
week was a glorious one for the Union cause. The rebellion 
is by no means broken, but it is greatly weakened." 

We continue our extracts from the journal of Dr. Stow, 
with special reference to matters connected with the war. 
Alluding, July 23, 1864, to the feeling of discouragement that 
was growing among the people, he says, " I wish I could see 
some honorable mode of restoring peace, and stopping the 
effusion of blood. But I see none so long as the South insists 
upon a division of the Union, and a recognition of the Con- 
federacy." 

August 31. The President of the United States has requested that 
thanks might be returned to-day in the churches for recent victories. 
Other ministers, I presume, have preached on national affairs. I have 
endeavored faithfully to preach the gospel of Christ. In prayer I en- 
deavored to comply with the president's wishes. By no process could I 
bring my mind to a preaching service that would be likely to be inter- 
preted as promoting partisan ends. I can preach for my country ; for 
party I cannot. I am earnestly in favor of the reelection of Abraham 
Lincoln ; but I cannot help him in my pulpit. This has been my rule 
from the beginning, not to prostitute my vocation in any political prefer- 
ences. " I am set for the defence of the gospel." 

March 1, 1865. Much anxiety is felt for General Sherman, who is 
moving into North Carolina, and to check whose movements the rebels 
are " concentrating" their scattered divisions. Having cut loose from 
his base at Savannah, he had, at last dates, reached no other. Whence 
come his commissary stores? His movement is a bold one. Is it safe? 



JOURNAL. 309 

He has become the idol of our people. Is he not in danger of being 
overthrown? When a man becomes popular for a certain thing, he is 
very apt to undo in that direction. Lord, preserve him, direct him, and 
make him successful. 

March 8. No news from General Sherman since he left Columbia, 
S. C. He is supposed to be moving north; but of his movements even 
the government knows nothing, and probably will-not until he gets far 
into North Carolina, and can communicate with Wilmington. Whence 
come his supplies for so large a force ? His expedition is certainly a 
bold one. Happy if it prove not a rash one. I know nothing of mili- 
tary affairs ; but, looking at Sherman's enterprise in the light of com- 
mon sense, its wisdom appears to me doubtful. Should it be successful, 
it will be a wonder in history. 

March 11. Read cheerfully Ezek. vii. — a most extraordinary chap- 
ter. Who ever wrote like the prophets ? What a description is that 
of the desolations coming upon Jerusalem ! and what a commentary to 
subsequent history ! 

April 15. Painful news — the assassination of President Lincoln. 

Evening. This has been a day of gloom through all the loyal states. 
Nothing since the death of Washington has so affected the people. 
The mourning for his tragical end is profound and sincere. In medi- 
tating upon this event, some questions have arisen. 

Is it not possible that Mr. Lincoln had fulfilled his mission, and done 
all that he was best capable of doing? 

Having united the country in breaking down the military power of 
the rebellion, was he the man to inaugurate and carry through a plan 
for the reconstruction of the Union? 

May not his death at this time and under such circumstances, have 
been a necessity for the deepening of an impression as to the "barba- 
rism of slavery," and the strengthening of a determination that the ac- 
cursed system shall be effectually rooted out? 

Was not this calamity needed to strike an awe into the heart of the 
nation respecting the supremacy of God, and as a warning not to de- 
pend upon an arm of flesh? 

Had not Mr. Lincoln reached the acme of his glory, and was not his 
death at this juncture necessary to put his name in history without a 
blot? 

May not his successor be the man to take up the work just at this 
point, and finish it with desirable thoroughness ? 

I pretend not to interpret the designs of Providence ; but I am sure 
that God has some great purposes to accomplish by this seeming disas- 
ter. He may still be trusted. O, that all the people may adore him, 
and reverently await the development of his designs !• 



310 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

But we have dwelt longer, perhaps, than we ought to have 
done on the stirring events which so deeply interested the 
exceedingly sensitive nature of the subject of this Memoir. 
In the midst of the record of these exciting transactions, we 
find a picture of early home life and experiences, which seems 
like a gentle strain of music borne over the waters of a tem- 
pestuous sea. 

July 9. Sky cloudless. A lovely Sabbath indeed. I am reminded 
of summer Sabbaths in boyhood, when I " went to meeting" at the Old 
Meeting-house, on " Baptist Hill," in Newport, N. H. Thomas Brown 
was the preacher, and as I sat in the window in the west gallery, in- 
stead of listening to the preaching, I watched the river winding down 
a deep valley, and I looked over the hill-sides on fields of grain and 
grass waving in the wind ; at the shadows of the clouds moving across 
the landscape of wild forests and cultivated farms. How soothing were 
those views ! how suggestive of real beauty ! My soul hath them still in 
remembrance. 

It will be remembered how much interest was awakened 
in the circles of religious thinkers by the publication of the 
works of Rev. F. W. Robertson. We will let Dr. Stow ex- 
press his own opinion on this remarkable man, although we 
are aware that many of the admirers of this gifted clergyman 
will differ somewhat from this opinion. 

December 20, 1865. Still reading the Life and Letters of F. W. Rob- 
ertson. No better pleased. An analysis of his mental history would 
be instructive. All his aberrations may be traced back to a defective 
heart experience at the time he entered the ministry. His theories of 
religion were a mixture of the worst vagaries of Maurice, Kingsley, 
Theodore Parker, French Socialists, German Neologists, &c, &c. 

Of two other books which he had been reading he takes 
note. The one, Bowles's Across the Continent, made a deep 
impression on his mind, as presenting a picture of the vast ex- 
tent and unlimited resources of our country. " What," he is 
led to inquire, " will it be a half century hence ? O that our 
churches, our ministry even, were more fully awake to the 
work before them ! How weighty the responsibilities that 
press upon this generation of Christians ! " The other book 



VIEWS ON EVANGELISM. 311 

was Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. " Disgusted with both its 
philosophy and its morality," he remarks, " I have thrown it 
aside. Satan has no more corrupting agency than such a 
writer. But as my heart is, I bless God it loathes such liter- 
ature. O, what an account will French novelists have to 
render ! " 

We introduce at this point two extracts, in which may be 
traced his opinion of the system of " Evangelism." It will 
be seen that while he alludes in kind, even commendatory, 
terms to one who has for several years been regarded as one 
of the best exponents of the system, he speaks cautiously, and 
as the result of his own experience of the system itself. 

April 10, 1866. At eleven A. M. went to Park Street Church, and 
heard a discourse from Rev. A. B. Earle, the revivalist, who is now 
laboring at Chelsea. The house was full, and the preacher had good 
attention. His text was Ps. li. .12 — " Restore unto me the joy of thy 
salvation" He said many good things in a very tender manner. Noth- 
ing eccentric, nothing vulgar. I think a good impression was made. 

April 27. In several of our city churches there is considerable reli- 
gious interest, but all under the high-pressure system of revival agen- 
cies. I cannot introduce such expedients. They are dangerous, I 
know. I am endeavoring to do my duty to my people, and must leave 
with God the results. I may temporarily be blamed for not cooperating 
with my brethren ; but one year hence what will be their judgment re- 
specting these measures ? My heart aches for the unconverted of my 
flock, but my responsibility has limitations, and if they perish it will 
not be because I have failed to tell them the whole truth. 

The question of personal duty in his relations to his church 
grew only more perplexing as the weeks passed by. He 
hoped to get some light on the subject by consultation with 
leading brethren in the church ; but he came to the conclusion 
that he must decide the matter for himself. To add to the 
weight of the burden he was bearing, death was constantly 
making sad havoc in the circle of his friends. Under date of 
September 15 of this year, 1866, he alludes to the removal of 
his " excellent physician," Dr. Augustus A. Gould, who, for 
thirty-three years, had been his family physician. The blow 
was a heavy one, and nearly unmanned him. A few days af- 



312 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

ter, tie records the death of another life-long friend, William 
Crane, of Baltimore. Not long after, another Mend, Rev. W. 
Jenks, D. D., is called to his reward, and again he feels like 
one personally bereaved. 

In touching words he closes the record of the year. 

December 31. Anniversary of my baptism, forty- eight years ago. 
How fresh in my recollection are the incidents of that memorable day — 
of the grave cut through the ice, of the administrator (dear Brother 
Leland Howard), of the candidates (eleven in number), of the specta- 
tors, of the day, much like this, bleakly cold, &c, &c. ! I am now far 
along in life ; but O, how little has been my spiritual progress ! Gladly 
would I set apart this day to a review of my Christian course, to fasting 
and to prayer; but I have work, work, and " must be about my Father's 
business." 

God, in great mercy forgive my sins of this year ; accept my thanks 
for the favors of the year ; bless my labors for the year. 

Farewell, 1866. 



ANTI-SLAVEBY POSITION QUESTIONED. 313 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Called to an Account. — Correspondence. — Resignation of the 
Pastorate of Eowe Street Church. — Call to Alton, Illi- 
nois. — Letter of Advice from Ministering Brethren. — De- 
cision TO REMAIN IN BOSTON. — CORRESPONDENCE. 

While in England, in the summer of 1859, Dr. Stow had 
been called to an account by some of his Baptist brethren, 
because he had failed, in their opinion, to come up to their 
standard as " Abolitionists." They accused him of lukewarm- 
ness, of a backwardness to take a position of open, avowed 
hostility to the system of American slavery. To those who 
had known Dr. Stow's views on this subject, this charge was 
simply ridiculous. These brethren went so far as to send a 
written communication to him, calling upon him to explain, 
and if possible vindicate, his conduct. As he did not recog- 
nize the authority of this self-constituted jury, who were thus 
sitting in judgment on him, he would not condescend to take 
any notice of their dogmatic communication. The corre- 
spondence which grew out of this affair is worthy of perusal. 
The letter sent to Dr. Stow from England is too long to 
transfer to our pages, but the principal points in it will be 
brought out in the correspondence referred to. 

Providence, March 19, 1860. 

My dear Brother : I think the communication a very extraordinary 
one. You cannot satisfy such men, and yet maintain a proper self- 
respect. They interfere with your Christian liberty, and take ground 
that is highly offensive. 

I would either make no reply, or I would reaffirm what you said, and 
express a regret that your Christian integrity is publicly questioned by 



314 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

brethren. A gentle remonstrance might be added against such a mode 
of trial. 

If it is probable that they will mangle and maul you again, I would 
not give them another chance to " disapprove of Dr. Stow representing 
himself" — falsely — in plain English. 

I would write more, but I begin to grow indignant, and am really 
afraid I shall get angry. You cannot answer the communication as it 
deserves. They have taken great pains to spread a net for you. If you 
show much feeling, they will think they have the bull in their meshes. 
I should like to know how Martin Luther, my old friend, would treat 
such a communication. He probably would say some very injudicious 
things. In fine, I would take my leave of the good brethren in the 
briefest way possible, and hope to meet them in heaven without these 
conditions of fellowship. 

I know you are anti-slavery, and always have been, in your senti- 
ments since my first acquaintance with you. I think we shall both con- 
tinue to be so in spite of provocations such as these to a contrary 
course. 

Now I have got cool again, I will say I think the action of our dear 
brethren on the other side of the water, supercilious and insolent. They 
even limit the time of your reply, making no provision either for sick- 
ness or death. The secretary delays writing a whole month, and then 
holds the ban over you if you are not more prompt than he has been. 
But I am getting warm again, and so will stop. My final opinion is, 
that the Lord only can manage such Christians. You may show this 
letter to anybody, if you have occasion. It will prove that I try to gov- 
ern myself. 

Yours, not in bonds, 

B. Sears. 

Boston, U. S., March 23, 1860. 

My dear Brother : Soon after my return from Europe last autumn, 
I learned indirectly that brethren in England were discussing certain 
questions pertaining to myself. No part of that discussion have I 
seen, and I have felt, respecting it, no solicitude. 

A few days since I received a letter from the secretary of the 
Board of Baptist Ministers in and near London, communicating, as 
instructed, a copy of a report of a committee of said Board adopted 
in January last. From two documents, bearing the signatures of men 
whom I do not know, it appears that I have been made the subject 
of elaborate inquisitorial proceedings. Of the contents of these pa- 
pers, unless I copy them entire, I can give you no adequate concep- 
tion. Should you see them, as I hope you may, I think you will 



CORRESPONDENCE. 315 

concur with me, that self-respect forbids all reply. In form and spirit 
they are both decidedly offensive; for, as I interpret them, they im- 
plicate my veracity, judge my motives, and interfere with my Chris- 
tian liberty. To men who thus approach me I cannot sacrifice my 
manhood, either by recognizing their jurisdiction or by conceding to 
any of their assumptions. They offer me an opportunity, within a 
limited time, to make explanations ; but they do this in a style and 
tone which but too plainly involve a menace. What they intend to 
do, provided I remain silent, they do not intimate, and I am not 
anxious to know. What little reputation I have is in the custody of 
Him whose I am and whom I serve. My prayer is, that both they 
and myself may have more of the spirit of Christ, and that, through 
the riches of his grace, we may all meet in heaven. 
In the Crucified One, 

I am, dear brother, 

Most affectionately, &c, 

Baron Stow. 
Rev. S. Manning, Frome, Somersetshire, England. 

To Rev. S. Manning. 

Boston, U. S. A., July 16, 1860. 

When I wrote you, March 23, I did not intend to subject you to 
the trouble of even acknowledging the receipt of my letter. My ob- 
ject was to place in the hands of one whom I was quite sure I 
might trust, a definitive expression of the light in which I regarded 
the communications forwarded to me by Mr. Barker, secretary. I 
have, therefore, to thank you most cordially for your fraternal kind- 
ness, as manifested in your two letters, one of May 24, the other of 
June 22, covering certain communications from London. 

After mature deliberation, I see no reason for changing my original 
purpose. The disclaimer of the board, in regard to the "premature 
publication " of the report, does not alter the case. Dishonorable as 
was that act, by whomsoever perpetrated, it constituted no part of 
the offence which determined my course. My difficulty was with the 
assumption of a jurisdiction which I cannot recognize, and with the 
tone of both the report and the accompanying letter. Till those doc- 
uments are withdrawn, and I am addressed, not as a culprit indicted 
by a Star Chamber process, but as a brother in Christ, my self- 
respect must forbid all response to their demand. 

Consequently I cannot accede to the wish of your friend in Lon- 
don, that I might furnish him with the means by which he could 
vindicate me. I appreciate his kindness ; but how can I, without self- 
degradation, do indirectly what my manhood will not allow me di- 



316 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

rectly to attempt? His intimation that, if I fail to supply some sort 
of vindication, there may be a vote not to " fraternize " with me, does 
not frighten me. Such action may be a greater calamity than I now 
foresee, but I must wait for it, and abide the issue. 

The interpretation which Mr. Barker is represented as putting upon 
my letter to you, is unjust. I am not in the habit of sneering at my 
Christian brethren, however ungenerously they may treat me, and, by 
referring to my copy of that letter I find nothing which can be honestly 
construed as disrespectful to the body which had assumed cognizance 
of my case. I did not know of whom that board was composed; I do 
not now know. They may all be far better men than I am, but their 
action in my case, as expressed by their communications, is objectiona- 
ble and offensive. Till approached in a different manner, I must be 
silent, and pray for grace to resemble Him who, for my sake, " made 
himself of no reputation." 

The foregoing correspondence shows us a side of Dr. Stow's 
character which is not often revealed. Ordinarily he was 
the most pliant of men, ready to yield his own wishes, and 
not insisting upon his own rights. But if there was an ap- 
pearance of lording it over him, if his purest motives were 
called in question, he not only keenly felt the insult, but he 
knew how, in a firm but Christian way, to repel it. The men 
who had ventured to arraign him at their bar may have sup- 
posed that they had a timid, irresolute spirit to deal with ; but 
they found that he was not to be treated in this manner 
without calling in question their authority, and declining, with 
dignity, to answer their impertinent questions. As the action 
of this self-constituted body of inquisitors was repudiated by 
a majority of the intelligent ministers of the denomination in 
England, Dr. Stow very soon dismissed from his mind all 
thought of it. 

We draw sparingly from the correspondence between the 
years 1860 and 1866. 

To the daughter of Professor Knowles. 

Boston, July 18, 1860. 
During my absence last week in Vermont, I read, in a newspaper, an 
announcement of the departure of your dear mother. Pardon me if I 



CORRESPONDENCE. 317 

express a wish to learn particulars. I had not heard of her illness. 
The intelligence stirred memories of the past which I tenderly cherish. 
I first saw your mother in 1825, a few months before she was married. 
Erom that time onward I esteemed her both for her own sake and for 
the sake of the dear one whom none but herself and children loved 
more than I did. With such as she and your lamented father I shall 
be glad to spend eternity. 



From E. B. Underhill. 

London, April 20, 1861. 

We are watching with deep interest the progress of affairs 
in the States. The last two days have filled us with dread 
that civil war is about to break out. This is deeply to be 
regretted. It may be grievous to lose the south, but I am 
inclined to think that good government and humanity will be 
served by the separation. It seems to me that these events 
must lead to" a modification of your constitution, by which the 
executive shall be rendered more able to administer the laws 
and enforce their observance. Nothing is so striking to us as 
the absence of strength in your executive to constrain atten- 
tion to the laws, to overrule mobs, and prevent anarchy. The 
central power will have to be made much more powerful, 
either by a larger standing army, or by greater command of 
the police and administrative authorities. Of course you may 
have an executive too powerful, but in a constitutional govern- 
ment this can be guarded against. 

To Deacon H. Lincoln. 

Boston, July 20, 1861. 

You write somewhat on the " falling inflection," as I be- 
lieve you generally do the first week of your sojourn at Sara- 
toga Springs. By this time, I take it, you have washed down 
the blueness of your spirits, and commenced the ascending 
scale. As many as thirty times has the " old Congress " ex- 
orcised from your physical system the unclean spirit that 
caused depression, and you have returned " as good as new," 
ready for an eloquent appeal in behalf of the Massachusetts 



318 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

Baptist Charitable Society, at the Boston Association. I am 
looking for a like result this year. You are only in your 
eighty-third year. At the commencement dinner, on Wednes- 
day, Josiah Quincy, Senior, made a speech showing how little 
his natural force was abated, though he is almost ninety. 
Deacon Lincoln is good yet for active service. 

To his wife. 

Boston, Harrison Avenue, September 7, 1861. 

One of my first thoughts, after waking this morning, was 
of a, delightful event in our history — an event of which every 
7th of September reminds me ; and as I bowed in thanksgiv- 
ing to God for his many mercies, I poured out my heart in 
praise for his gift of such a wife. I have to-day recalled 
the history — my own and yours — of all these years, and I 
could see a hundred reasons why I should be grateful. God 
forgive me if I fail here, as I fail in almost every 'duty. 

You, my precious one, have been to me invariably true and 
faithful. I cannot remember the first delinquency in the 
fulfilment of your marriage vows. You have patiently borne 
with my infirmities, and spread the mantle of love over my 
imperfections. You have been my solace in times of nervous 
suffering, and my helper in the trials and responsibilities of a 
laborious life. You have tenderly endeavored to correct 
whatever in me was perverse. You have genially fostered 
whatever in me was right. For all the attainments I have 
made in moral culture, I am indebted to your quiet mode of 
dealing with my susceptible and hasty temperament. "When 
we were united in bonds never to be severed, you little knew 
your mission. God then provided for me just the one whom 
he saw I needed to promote both my happiness and useful- 
ness. Blessed be his name forever and ever for such a help- 
meet — the greatest favor next to the forgiveness of my sins 
which he could bestow. Again and again I bow before him 
in adoring gratitude. 

Accept this, dear E., as a tribute, not prompted by any 
spasmodic affection, but revealing the uniform conviction of 



LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 319 

what is due from one who knows and appreciates your worth. 
May God fill you with his love, and keep you safe unto life 
everlasting. Not many years hence, we shall, through rich 
grace, be in a better home, " clothed upon with our house, 
which is from heaven," " ever with the Lord," and ever to- 
gether. 

To Rev. Dr. Stockbridge. 

■ Boston, February 8, 1862. 

I rejoice to hear so encouraging an account of the state of 
affairs in dear old Baldwin Place. And I rejoice for the sake 
of that precious people, and for Christ's sake, that you are 
there. May God bless you there, giving you many souls. 
Assure the dear brethren of my tender interest in their pros- 
perity, and my earnest prayers that they may be favored 
largely with the divine influence. The first moment I find my- 
self able, I shall certainly be with them and you, speaking 
words of encouragement, and joining my supplications with 
yours and theirs. You have there sure proof of what I 
knew years ago — that Baldwin Place Christians know how 
to pray. 

To Dr. and Mrs. Shurtleff. 

Sharon Springs, N. Y., August 14, 1862. 

My dear Friends : I have just read in the Boston Post 
a notice of the heavy calamity that has come upon you ; and 
though my absence is not for pleasure, yet I almost reproach 
myself that I am so far away as to render personal attentions 
impossible. My heart is with you in this hour of your bit- 
terest affliction, and I adopt the only means at command to 
assure you of Mrs. Stow's and my own sympathy. Gladly 
would we be by your side, showing that friendship is more 
than a name — that Christian sympathy is a reality. We 
have felt for you in previous bereavements, when you yielded 
up, at your Father's call, precious little ones — lovely plants 
of promise, early transplanted to the Gardens of the Blest, 
where, under the* most faithful culture, they are developing 



320 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

from glory to glory. Not less, but more, do we now feel for 
you as you mourn for your first-born. You have suffered on 
his account — not, thank God, because of any departure from 
morality, but because of his adoption of a religious theory 
differing from your own. Nqw you forget all those anxieties 
and regrets, and remember only what you approved. Na- 
thaniel was unquestionably sincere; he followed his own 
deeply wrought convictions ; he was honest before God. I 
have often thought of him as having, very possibly, been 
saved from scepticism by the power of a faith that carried 
him farther than you and I can go. It is better to believe 
too much than too little. His belief included the essential 
elements of Christianity. The excess of his faith pertained 
to things outward in religion, and could not neutralize the 
saving efficiency of those truths which relate to the inward 
life. You may, upon a review of the whole case, see that his 
becoming a Catholic was beneficently ordered by Him who 
sees the end from the beginning, and you will say through 
your tears, " He hath done all things well." 

Great, indeed, is the sacrifice you have made for your 
country's good. You laid that dear son on the altar, know- 
ing the possibility of what has actually occurred. God has 
accepted the offering, and he will support and comfort you 
under the bereavement. To his paternal mercy I commend 
you. My prayer is for your solace — that solace which is 
always the result of quiet, unmurmuring submission. 

To Rev. I. Pearson. 

Boston, July 3, 1863. 

I see by the newspapers that you and yours are in affliction ; 
and, though you do not lack for friends, yet I am sure you w^ill 
let me say that my heart turns towards you in tender sym- 
pathy. 

I remember Abby King as a little child, but for many 
years have not seen her. Still I have ever felt an interest 
in her for her parents' sake, and have ever received a good 
account of her as an honor to her parentage. I know not if 



INTEREST IX "CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD. OZl 

my precious brother, Alonzo King, has a child left on earth. 
He certainly has children in heaven. Happy, happy reunion ! 

How, within our remembrance, those two families, the 
Kings and the Cheneys, have melted away ! I love to recall 
the memory of what they were, and still more to think what 
so many of them now are. Blessed be the " God of grace " 
for the prospect of meeting such numbers of the friends of 
my youth in the better land ! 

As I advance in years, I turn with warmer and warmer in- 
terest to those whom I knew and esteemed in early life. As 
I hear of their sorrows, I feel an irresistible desire to lay my 
heart close to theirs, and let them feel its throbbings of Chris- 
tian sympathy. I am in the last of the seven decades of 
years allotted to man, and it is becoming more and more a 
part of my mission to write fraternally to those whom I can- 
not see and address. 

To Rev. 1ST. M. Williams. 

Boston, November 28, 1863. 

Many thanks for your kind letter of the 15th. I have many 
such from individuals, some entire strangers, but no one has 
given me such special pleasure as yours. 

" Christian Brotherhood " was the product of a heart that 
has long felt deeply on the subject. The Baptist religious 
papers were " afraid of its tendencies to laxity of Baptist 
principles," and treated it, not unkindly, but coolly. Only 
one edition was sold, and, unless there should be an increased 
demand, I doubt if the publishers would venture another. I 
am not annoyed or mortified, personally, by the fate of the 
book. I did not write it for fame or money, and, having 
gained neither, I am not disappointed. I felt impelled to 
give my testimony, and leave it in the hands of Him whom I 
wished to honor. Consequently I have not for a moment been 
disquieted by its limited circulation, or by any criticisms. 
All, so far as I know, admitted that the work was written in 
a kind, Christian spirit. I wish I could see a better spirit in 
21 



3*22 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

our Baptist brethren towards evangelical Christians who dif- 
fer from them. 

That you are interested in my views gives me much satis- 
faction. I am the happier for entertaining them, and for 
having published them, and I am sure the day will come when 
those views will receive favor now denied them. The spirit 
of sect is not the spirit of Christ. It is the disfigurement 
of our Christianity, and must be renounced before we shall 
make any large inroads upon the territories of error and sin. 

Let us, my brother, be true to all our principles. If others 
welcome not our fidelities, let us endeavor to be ourselves 
right by subordinating our denominationalism to our Chris- 
tianity. " Charity never faileth." 

To J. W. Manning, Esq. 

Boston, June 12, 1864. 

I thank you for the paper containing a notice of the death 
of our dear friend Dr. B. Never shall I forget the frequent 
interviews I had with him in the spring of 1858. He came 
to me as a stranger, with his mind evidently disturbed by the 
Holy Spirit's influences, yet clinging to his Unitarian notions 
of God, and sin, and salvation. I could not conceive of a 
pagan mind more dark in regard to evangelical doctrines ; 
but happily he was docile and anxious to know the truth. 
I had to begin with a statement of the first principles of 
Christianity, and lead him on, as a little child, through the 
simplest rudiments of religious truth. Most delightfully I 
was rewarded by the readiness with which he embraced 
that truth at every step of the explanation. I soon became 
convinced that his heart had been renewed even before he 
called upon me, and that all he needed was instruction. 
Never had I seen a more flexible mind, or one more disposed 
to accept the gospel. His " natural religion " melted away 
before the cross like snow in summer, and the moment he 
saw what the Saviour had done for him, he welcomed the 
knowledge with an intelligent joy that I have seldom seen 
equalled. His views of God's holiness, and of the great evil 



COEEESPONDENCE. 323 

of sin, were remarkably clear, and his surrender to Christ was 
complete. The cast of his mind, both naturally and by edu- 
cation, was eminently scientific, and I feared, at first, that he 
would require demonstration at every point, and insist on 
knowing rather than believing. But in that respect I was 
disappointed. He showed no repugnance to any truth of the 
Bible, and was willing to believe whatever God has said, be- 
cause of his confidence in the divine veracity. I saw him 
often for several weeks, and was inexpressibly gratified by 
his progress in a knowledge of the plan of salvation. His 
emergence from darkness into light was slow, but he came 
out with no remnant of Unitarianism clinging to him. He 
was an evangelical believer every step of the way, and expe- 
rienced richly all that is denoted by the expression, " peace 
in believing." Hence I have never feared his relapse into 
any of his former errors. His theology was experimental ; 
his faith stood " not in the wisdom of men, but in the power 
of God." He could give a reason for the hope that was in 
him. He had a new heart, and his religion was a life. 

Not often have I seen him since, but every interview has 
confirmed my first impression — that his conversion was 
thorough. That he is now with Christ I do not doubt. 



To Rev. Dr. Dean, Bangkok, Siam. 

Boston, July 14, 1866. 
. . . There is war in continental Europe, and we are 
looking for changes there that will be favorable to human 
freedom. These old despotisms must pass away, and the 
crushed millions must arise from their depression. Roman- 
ism is still the curse of Europe, but its power is waning. 
Should Italy become a unity under Victor Emanuel, I would 
not give much for the poor old pope and his college of cardi- 
nals. Not more certain is it that paganism must fall, than 
it is that the Romish Antichrist must perish. Paganism and 
Romanism are both of the devil, and Christ will destroy them. 
You and I shall not here witness the consummation, but from 



324 memoir or DE. STOW. 

the heights of the heavenly Zion we shall see Christ trium- 
phant, and exult over the glorious issue. 

Some of the correspondents of Dr. Stow may be disap- 
pointed as they turn to the pages of this volume, and do not 
find precious letters written by him to them. Writing to a 
dear relative, under date of September 25, 1865, he says, "I 
write from twenty to twenty-five letters per week, and yet a 
huge pile of unanswered letters is constantly before me, occa- 
sioning many a heartache that I cannot promptly reciprocate 
the kind remembrances of my friends." From this accumu- 
lated mass of correspondence, we must choose as best we may, 
wishing, above all things, to bring out in sharp relief such pe- 
culiarities of mind and heart as may convey to our readers 
the best portraiture we can give of the character of Dr. Stow. 

Early in the year 1867, Dr. Stow was called to mourn the 
removal by death of several long-tried friends, among whom 
were the wife of Deacon Heman Lincoln, and the venerable 
Mrs. Mears, both of them women of great personal worth, and 
both deeply interested in everything connected with the pros- 
perity of Rowe Street Church. These blows fell heavily on the 
sensitive heart of their beloved pastor. In addition to these 
fresh burdens laid upon his spirit, there was the one he was ever 
bearing, involved in the question of duty as to the pastorate of 
the church, over whose fortunes he had so long presided. He 
felt certain that to remain much longer in the locality which 
they were then occupying would be fatal to their interests, 
probably to their very existence. While he was willing, to 
the utmost of his ability, to cooperate with them in the adop- 
tion and carrying out of any plan which would open to them 
a new path of prosperity, he saw, or thought he saw, a lack 
of enterprise and an unwillingness to embark in any new 
schemes, which, with the blessing of God, might result in their 
enlargement and increased efficiency. This want of hearty 
zeal oppressed his spirits. He laid open his heart to his breth- 
ren. Several meetings for consultation were held, and the 
result of all their deliberations was, that he felt constrained 



RESIGNS THE PASTORATE OF EOWE STREET CHURCH. 325 

to send in his resignation of his pastoral charge. There were 
some things connected with his resignation which deeply ' 
pained him, over which we draw the veil. As similar expe- 
riences fall to the lot of almost all ministers placed in similar 
circumstances, we have no desire to give prominence to these 
trials, as if none like them have ever been borne by the ser- 
vants of Christ. He closed his letter of resignation with the 
assurance of his affection for the church, and of the joy he 
should ever feel in their prosperity, and expressed himself 
ready to render to it any service that might contribute to its 
advancement. 

Once more free, bound by no ministerial ties to any church, 
he had an opportunity to enjoy a few weeks of respite from 
professional toil. Two or three months elapse, and calls to 
different posts of labor begin to pour in upon him. First 
there comes an invitation to become pastor of the church in 
Upper Alton, 111., coupled with the assurance that he will be 
invited to the chair of a professor in the theological depart- 
ment of Shurtleff College. Then he is approached with offers 
of a professorship in still another institution, and the presi- 
dency of a seminary at Washington, D. C, for the education 
of colored preachers. The most urgent claim was from Upper 
Alton, and it was pressed with great importunity. The 
following extracts will show the interest which was taken by 
his friends in the decision to which, after prayerful considera- 
tion, he might be brought. The first was written by Dr. 
Bright, and appeared in the Examiner, of New York, Septem- 
ber 26, 1867. 

" Dr. Stow's pastoral services in Boston, both at Baldwin 
Place and at Rowe Street, have been of such a degree of 
excellence, that after-times, when in search of models for the 
illustration of pastoral work, will turn to these services and 
find them. He has merited, and he has had, the unqualified re- 
spect and reverence of the city in which he has dwelt. And 
it becomes us to say, as of personal knowledge, that in the 
important missionary counsels of his denomination no man 



326 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

has been his superior ; and it is not too much to say that in 
some respects no man has been his peer. Not greatly given 
to talk, he had the rarer power of listening till he had mas- 
tered every point of a discussion, and of then stating, in the 
form of a motion or resolution, the line of policy in which 
conflicting views misjht be harmonized. The action of the 
missionary committee was oftener his, in instances of this 
kind, than of any other person, and this, never from an over- 
bearing influence, but from an extraordinary power of insight 
and adjustment. These missionary services, like his pastoral 
services, can never be over-estimated. If he goes to Alton, 
he goes with still the power of rendering exalted service; and 
he is the man to stand by his Master's work to the last." 

On the contrary, another writer gives his opinion in lan- 
guage which met with a response in multitudes of loving 
hearts. 

" Dr. Stow, instead of resigning, ought to have had a good, 
active colleague. This mark oirespect was due to him, and 
would have been an honor to the church. He ought not to 
leave Boston for any western field. He has spent thirty-five 
years in an active, useful ministry, which has been unsurpassed ; 
and here he ought to spend his last days, which ought to be 
made his best." 

We cannot refrain from enriching our pages with the fol- 
lowing most beautiful and touching letter sent to Dr. Stow 
by his brethren in the ministry. Its great influence on the 
decision which he finally reached cannot be doubted. 

Dear Brother : We, the undersigned, your brethren, most 
of whom are younger than yours elf ) and others, your life-long 
friends, with whom you have been associated in the pastoral 
office, are tenderly sensitive to the circumstances in which 
you now ask onr advice. We will not attempt to express the 
emotions of personal sympathy and affection with which our 
hearts are full. In regard to the position offered for your 



PROTEST AGAINST HIS LEAVING BOSTON. 327 

acceptance at Upper Alton, 111., we can only say, that we 
have no doubt it is a field which should be occupied by one 
of the strongest men in our denomination, and we appreciate 
the good judgment of the church and the friends of the 
college in directing their attention to yourself. We hesitate 
to give counsel to one, of whom it is more natural that we 
should ask it ; but we are strongly of the opinion, — and in this 
decision of our judgment our hearts very warmly and in- 
stinctively coincide, — that you should pass the remainder of 
your life in this vicinity. You were born in New England. 
Here you have been engaged in the active duties of the 
pastorate for nearly forty years, thirty-five of which have been 
passed in this city. Here is your home. You know the 
habits and character of the people, and they know you. Your 
name is identified with the Baptists of Massachusetts and of 
Boston ; nor is there any name more honored and beloved 
among us. Your reputation is unsullied, and we look upon 
it as the gift of God to our churches and ministry, and should 
be guarded and used by us, especially now in the evening of 
your days, as a sacred trust. You have a matured experience. 
We cannot forget how often you have appeared as if intui- 
tively to speak the right word in the right place, and how 
frequently you have embodied in a brief paragraph or resolu- 
tion the united sentiment of a public meeting, and thus 
harmonized conflicting elements. We know what your in- 
fluence has been at Newton, and in the Missionary Union, 
and in all our benevolent institutions. We need that 
influence now more than ever. We know that we can- 
not have it many years longer; and on this account we 
cling to it the more earnestly. Your fellow-citizens of Bos- 
ton, old and young, many of whom are unknown to you per- 
sonally, but who have seen you for many years on public 
occasions, who have heard you in the pulpit, and have met 
you daily in the streets, would sadly miss the familiar voice 
and form. We know, too, your own temperament, your at- 
tachment to early scenes, and the friends you have known 
and loved so long. We are sure that you could not be sepa- 



328 MEMOIR OE DR. STOW. 

rated from them without a heart-pang, which, though borne 
in silence, would still rest painfully upon your sensitive spirit, 
to the close of life. So far, therefore, as we are able to in- 
terpret the present indications of Providence, our advice is, 
that you remain where you are, confidently believing that the 
Lord has work for you to do, and in his own time will make 
the path of duty plain before you. 

Rollin H. Neale, William Hague, 

J. N. Murdock, O. T. Walker, 

J. W. Olmstead, D. C. Eddy, 

William C. Child, A. Webster, 

James Upham, W. V. Garner, 

Granville S. Abbott, Justin D. Fulton, 

P. Stowe, E. A. Lecompte. 
Boston, October 21, 1867. 

Such a tribute of respect and affection from his brethren, 
any minister might well covet. In view of all the reasons 
which presented themselves to his mind, Dr. Stow decided 
to remain in his long and dearly cherished home. The tree, 
now growing venerable with age, had struck down its roots 
too deep, and spread its tendrils too widely, to be rudely 
torn up and transplanted to another soil. There was no lack 
of opportunity to render service in his own line of professional 
duty. If he was nominally without a pastoral charge, he 
was constantly performing the work of a pastor. Now we 
find him at Laconia, N. H., performing the last offices of kind- 
ness and respect for his old friend and parishioner, Colonel 
Selden Crockett. A few weeks after he alludes to the funeral 
services performed over the remains of Mrs. Sarah Colby, the 
mother of another of his warm friends, Gardiner Colby, Esq. 
Of her he says, " I could speak of her without a drawback. 
She was fifty years a true, exemplary Christian, a woman of 
great energy, with strong elements of character, developed by 
hard struggles and much sharp discipline." 

To relieve him of the pecuniary burdens, which, of course, 
were pressing upon him, the friends of Dr. Stow purchased 



DARK SHADOWS. 329 

for him an annuity policy of one thousand dollars. His ser- 
vices as a preacher were in almost constant demand, and his 
busy pen was in requisition every week to furnish articles for 
the columns of the Watchman and Reflector, and other reli- 
gious periodicals. His friends saw no flagging of his intellec- 
tual powers, and he did a vast amount of mental labor with 
his wonted facility. In all the movements of the church, of 
which he had for so many years been the pastor, he took an 
abiding interest ; and when, convinced of their inability longer 
to sustain themselves in Rowe Street, they decided to remove 
to their present locality, no heart was more gladdened by the 
decision than was that of Dr. Stow. He performed the ser- 
vice of laying the corner stone of the new edifice. On the 
completion of the lecture-room of the new church, he preached, 
April 25, 1869, the first sermon in its pulpit. 

Death continued to break the ties which bound him to 
friends whom he had loved for years. One after another — 
Dr. Cushman, Rev. P. Stowe, Hon. Richard Fletcher, Deacon 
Heman Lincoln — were called away. Of the last he writes, 
" Blessed be God for his useful life. Yesterday (July 24) he 
recognized me with a smile and a pressure of the hand." 
These various bereavements weighed heavily upon his spirits. 
They made him feel how solitary he was becoming by these 
removals of long-cherished friends to the other world. It 
must not be denied also that he felt keenly the loneliness of 
the position which he now occupied. We have seen how he 
loved the pastoral office, which he had sustained for nearly 
forty years with scarcely any interruption. Now he felt as 
if he was out of his appropriate sphere. He was not con- 
scious of any failure in the vital forces of his nature. Those 
who saw him in the committee-room of the mission-house in 
Bedford Street, those who read the productions of his pen, 
or listened to his preaching on the Sabbath, felt that the old 
vigor and life were still there, and that, fostered by genial in- 
fluences, such as had surrounded him in other days, perhaps 
years of useful service might still be in reserve for him. But 
his intimate friends saw that, with all his attempts when 



330 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

among men to appear cheerful and happy, he was sad and 
downcast. He dwelt with sorrow on his position as a minis- 
ter without a pastoral charge. The work of a pastor had 
been his cherished vocation for so many years that it was ex- 
ceedingly hard to lay aside this vocation. He missed the 
sympathy of his " own people." He wanted the love of a 
church who with fondness could call him "pastor," and 
whom, in the arms of his faith, he could daily carry to the 
throne of heavenly grace. Now he felt — we may say that 
the feeling was a morbid one, but to him it was intensely 
real — that he was cast into the shade. He would not mur- 
mur against the will of God ; but he drank the cup which was 
pressed to his lips with a depth of grief which it was sad to 
behold. How many of his warm friends would gladly have 
chased away those sombre clouds which brooded over him ! 
But it was not in the power of any human being to scatter 
them. In the circumstances in which he was placed, he would 
not have been Baron Stow, had he felt any differently from 
what he did feel. His friends, companions of his earlier and 
his riper years, falling around him in every direction ; turned 
aside from the endeared occupations of a long ministerial life, 
feeling — whether justly or unjustly we will not undertake to 
say — that his brethren were beginning to regard him as old 
and worn out, when he felt conscious that his ability to do 
good service for his Lord and Master in that department of 
religious work in which he had wrought for a lifetime, was 
not essentially weakened, — we repeat it, he would not have 
been Baron Stow if he had not given way to depression of 
spirits, and sometimes sunk down almost overwhelmed under 
the burdens he was bearing. Occasionally there would be a 
Sabbath, when, although he felt vigorous and well, it would 
happen that his services were not in demand, and he who 
loved the pulpit with the ardor of an almost unquenchable 
passion would be compelled to pass the day in silence. Such 
Sabbaths, to him, were days of bitter anguish. It is unques- 
tionably true that this experience through which he was pass- 
in o- was the means of hastening the end which was now 



CORRESPONDENCE. 331 

drawing so rapidly near. The Master whom he had so long 
and so faithfully served saw that the load that he was carrying 
was greater than he could bear, and in mercy to him he took 
him to a higher and holier sphere of labor and enjoyment, 
where the weary one would be at rest. 

Pursuing still the plan which we have followed in the pre- 
ceding pages, we make one more draft upon his correspon- 
dence. The extracts we give have a peculiar interest, because 
they are taken from the last letters he ever wrote. Knowing 
how sincerely he would deprecate the presentation of thoughts 
and feelings which grew out of his private griefs, we refrain 
from bringing these to the notice of our readers. We pre- 
sent those only to which we think he would make no objec- 
tion. 

To Rev. Ira Pearson. 

Boston, January 16. 1867. 

Your kind favor of the 14th came to hand this morning, 
and, as a Chinaman would say, " It made me ten parts happy." 

Right glad am I to hear from you, my early pastor, and 
long my true and faithful fellow-laborer. Hardly can I realize 
that you are ten years older than myself. You always ap- 
peared so young, with no signs of decay, bodily or mental ! 
Good habits, a good conscience, and an eminently good wife 
have had an eminently conserving influence upon your vital 
forces, so that at seventy-five, without weakness or weariness, 
you maintain your position on the walls of Zion. And now, 
by the grace of God, you are having your youth renewed, 
and are gathering a harvest from the seed you have sown. 
How sweet the words you quote ! — " Mine eyes have seen thy 
salvation." Simeon had the best sight ; you are having the 
next best. O, how glorious to see sinners effectually subdued 
by the Holy Spirit, and brought to Christ for life and peace ! 
This your joy is now full. May God give you grace and 
strength to labor in this harvest season, and permit you the 
privilege, not only of gathering many converts, but of training 
them for effectual service when you shall have entered into 
rest. 



332 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

For a few years past I have been working hard without 
much apparent fruit. It is a trial of faith, but I do not 
despair of witnessing some further results of my labors. 
Your experience encourages me to hope for a blessing on 
the word I have preached. Pray for me, that, whatever may 
be my appointed lot, I may be "faithful unto death." My 
term of service is drawing to a close. I still love the work, 
and cheerfully toil on ; but I have no wish to go back and 
begin anew. The eternal future looks brighter than the tem- 
poral past. To depart and be with Christ is far better than 
any joys of the present life. Dear brother and sister, we look 
for a reunion in the better land. The last time I saw good 
Mrs. Farns worth, at Rochester, in 1852, she said to me in 
parting, " Brother, the children of God never see one another 
for the last time." 

To Reuben Guild, Esq. 

Boston, July 19, 1867. 

I received to-day, by express, a copy of your History of 
Brown University, and in it your autograph as the donor. 
Really it was very kind in you thus to remember your old 
friend and early pastor. Be sure I appreciate the gift as 
valuable, and the more as coming from you. I have already 
looked it through, and learned what a feast I have in store 
when I shall be able to do as I did with your Life of Presi- 
dent Manning — read it through. Many thanks, my dear 
Reuben, for this new act of filial kindness. May you long 
be spared to bless the kingdom of letters with the products 
of your facile and accurate pen. The numerous Mends of 
Brown University owe you a large debt of more than grati- 
tude for your extraordinary services, both as librarian and 
historian. What can I do to reward you ? It will be my 
study to secure for you some fitting recognition of such in- 
valuable services. 

Pardon me if I feel some complacency in the thought that 
you are, through divine grace, " my son in the gospel." " Be 
thou faithful unto death." 



CORRESPONDENCE. 333 

To Deacon H. B. Hart. 

Boston, December 31, 1867. 

I have your favor of yesterday, and my heart thanks you 
for it. In my advanced years it is a rich solace to be so af- 
fectionately remembered by those who long ago called me 
pastor. I think often of you and your excellent wife in con- 
nection with the dear church in Portsmouth, and the thought 
always reassures me that I have not lived in vain. I feel 
quite sure that you two may be reckoned as " my joy and 
crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus." 

How vivid are my recollections of that period to which 
you refer, thirty-eight years ago ! And that severely cold 
day, January 24, 1830, when I buried you and dear Sarah, and 
raised you up " to walk in newness of life." How fresh are 
all its incidents in my memory ! 

You and I have since witnessed many changes ; and now 
we are in the autumn of life, looking towards the conclusion 
of the period assigned us for labor. I grieve that I have not 
better served my blessed Master ; but I cannot ask him to 
take me back a single year. I do not regret that I am so far 
on my homeward way. My prospect for the remainder of this 
life is dark ; but beyond there is light ; and so, putting my 
hand in His whom I can trust in the darkest way, I press 
on in hope. Forty years I have endeavored to serve him, 
and I have ever found him true and faithful. Surely he will 
not now forsake me. 

Should it be right for Mr. Small to leave Bangor, I hope 
you may be successful in securing him. I have very little 
acquaintance with him ; but his reputation is excellent, both 
as a preacher and a pastor. 

To Rev. Dr. A. Woods. 

Boston, February 15, 1869. 

I learn from Providence that you have recently been af- 
flicted with severe indisposition. Hoping soon to hear that 
you are relieved from suffering and decidedly convalescent, 
I write, not to tax you with a reply, but to assure you of my 



334. MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

fraternal sympathy, and of my prayers that God will spare 
you to your many friends, and to the important denomina- 
tional interests with which you are identified. When you 
shall be fully able, I shall be glad to hear directly from you. 
Of course you feel how great is our loss in the death of our 
excellent brother, J. H. Duncan. I have just finished a me- 
morial notice of him for this week's Watchman and Reflector. 
Your thoughts, like mine, will turn to the difficulty of sup- 
plying his place in our Board of Fellows. May God direct 
us in the choice, in such a way as not to reduce our Baptist 
strength. 



THE BUSY WEITEB. 335 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Connection with the Watchman and Reflectoh. — His last 
Article, " Calvinism a Power." — Sickness and Death. — Fu- 
neral. — Letters from President M. B. Anderson, Dr. W. 
Dean, Dr. R. Fuller, and Dr. B. Sears. 

In the previous chapter it has been said that the friends of 
Dr. Stow failed to notice any breaking up of his intellectual 
powers. The ready, facile pen performed its office with its 
wonted vigor and ease, and the mental efforts which he put 
forth showed that his mind had preserved its customary en- 
ergy. His relations with the public press, which, from his 
college days, had always been kept up, were now more inti- 
mate than ever. Nearly all our leading denominational pa- 
pers were enriched by the productions of his pen, while he 
gave, during the last two years of his life, some of the best 
results of his intellectual activity to the Watchman and Re- 
flector, the paper in whose prosperity he had taken the most 
lively interest from the very commencement of its existence. 
During the last year of his life he prepared, on an average, 
two columns of matter for each weekly issue of this paper ; 
and his fruitful mind so teemed with thoughts that he never 
appeared to be at a loss for subjects upon which to write. 
Dr. Olmstead says that " his full volume of matter was always 
to be depended upon. Method and fidelity were leading 
characteristics of the good and able man now entered into 
rest." Without doubt Dr. Stow had contributed, through his 
long, active, professional life, to this paper, always so dear to 
him, as much matter, perhaps more, than any other general 
correspondent. He had a rare gift for writing biographical 



336 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

sketches of his deceased friends, saying just what every one 
felt was due to the memory of the departed, in simple, chaste 
language, and he made the columns of the Watchman and 
Reflector the medium of his communication. His last articles 
were among his best. 

So far as we have been able to learn, the last production 
of his pen was written not far from three weeks before his 
death. The circumstances under which this article, written 
for the Christian Era, was prepared, were so touching that 
we cannot forbear alluding to them. On the morning of the 
Sabbath when he was stricken down by the sickness which 
proved fatal, he felt in a peculiar degree the sadness which 
usually oppressed his spirits on the Lord's day. It was one 
of the few Sabbaths when he was debarred the pleasure of 
preachiug the gospel, and the hours of the day seemed to drag 
heavily. So great was the gloom which weighed upon him, 
that he felt a disinclination to attend public worship which he 
could not overcome, and he decided to spend the day in the 
privacy of his own study. Although he was cast down in 
heart, his mind retained its wonted power. As a relief to his 
laboring intellect, and perhaps to do something to chase away 
the sorrows of which he was conscious, he sat down at his 
desk and wrote the following paper, which shortly after ap- 
peared in the Era. Thrown off, as it was, rapidly, " currente 
calanio," we think it will compare favorably with the best 
efforts of his pen. 

Calvinism a Powee. 

This has been illustrated along more than three eventful 
centuries, in the formation of sturdy, individual character, and 
in the shaping of the history of great nations. The infusion 
of its influence into the Reformation of the sixteenth century, 
just at the time when that influence was needed, saved the 
work of the German Reformers from being a failure by giv- 
ing it a new impetus, and the concentrated force of doctrinal 
elements embodied in positive forms. Luther and his asso- 
ciates struck heavy blows at the chains of a gigantic spiritual 



CALVINISM A POWER. 337 

despotism, and emancipated millions from a domination that 
nullified God's authority and crushed out the rights of hu- 
manity. But their service, wonderfully effective, consisted 
essentially in the deliverance of captives of the papacy from 
a grinding tyranny, doing little else for them than the break- 
ing of bonds which might, after their death, be reunited and 
made as restrictive as before. People were made Protestants, 
but not extensively were they regenerated and made Chris- 
tians with a faith standing in the power of God. The Ger- 
man Reformers were destructionists in the department of an- 
tiquated errors — iconoclasts in the temple of anti-Christian 
idolatry. The enginery of spiritual oppression they vigor- 
ously demolished. But they did little in the way of con- 
struction; little adapted to make Protestantism aggressive 
into the domains of sin ; little to break up the rooted deprav- 
ities of human nature, and sow the seeds of evangelical vir- 
tues ; little to make men radically better ; little to set for- 
ward the true agencies of a progressive Christian civilization; 
little that forelaid the future, and promised permanence to the 
victories they had achieved. Lutheranism had no organized 
form, and could never have culminated in a successful antag- 
onism to the reinvigorated papacy, reenforced by its new ma- 
chinery of persecution as invented in Spain. In its origin, 
spirit, and aims, it was too negative to be an aggressive sys- 
tem, or even long to hold its own. It was a grand pioneer in 
the march of reform ; as " the Breaker " it did amazing execu- 
tion, and God forbid that we should disparage its achieve- 
ments because not fitted for the continuous work which would 
be needed in the coming complications of kingcraft, political 
intrigue, cursing diplomacy, and religious fanaticism. It was 
well for the Great Reformation, well for Christianity, well for 
man along the revolutions of time, that Providence, at a criti- 
cal juncture, brought forward a young Frenchman, born at 
Noyon, July 10, 1500, an eminent Christian scholar, and 
trained him for a service which Luther, the battle-axe of in- 
cipient assaults, could never have performed. John Calvin 
was the second man needed — a man not of an idea, but of 
22 



338 MEMOIR OP DR. STOW. 

ideas; just the required organizer to give Protestantism a 
creed that should take deeply hold in men's intellectual and 
moral nature, and bring them to act in concert under common 
impulses for the maintenance of what had been gained, and 
for the resistance of the natural reaction from the violent 
strain to which minds had been subjected, and for the sure 
extension of movements which were to bless the world with 
their triumphs. But for what was done at Geneva, by a 
strong hand and a bold heart, with God's blessing, hardly 
would Lutheranism have left any permanent trace upon the 
world's history. It was Calvinism that embodied the truths 
underlying the Reformation, giving them definitive form, 
planting them in brains and heart, whence, deeply rooted 
and maturely developed, they never could be extirpated. The 
history of the Swiss Protestants and of the French Hugue- 
nots suj>plies proof that Calvinism is a power, for it wrought 
in them results nowhere achieved by any other phase of the 
great reformatory process. Nothing else provided so effec- 
tual a barrier to the reactive encroachments of a maddened, 
ferocious papacy, or sternly resisted the diabolical system by 
which Ignatius Loyola and his Spanish and Italian patrons 
proposed to expunge the last remnant of heresy from Western 
and Central Europe. In Switzerland and the south of France, 
Calvinism formed characters solid and impregnable as the 
rocks, in whose fastnesses and caverns the believing found 
shelter, and whence they were dragged forth to torture and 
martyrdom. It did not create those lovely characters which 
are the admiration of such as look for aesthetic beauty, but it 
did create characters suited to the * times, which needed 
strength and sturdiness, capable of adventurous daring and 
unflinching endurance. The French Calvinists, distinguished 
by no elegance of culture, supplied some of the noblest speci- 
mens of Christian courage and fortitude which martyrology 
has embalmed for our study and admiration. 

The relief which he sought by this mental effort he found ; 
and as the day wore away, and the evening hours came on, 



LAST SICKNESS. 339 

he seemed more happy and cheerful than he had appeared for 
some time, and went out to call on a dear friend, of whose 
indisposition he had heard. On his return he had the attack 
which was the first premonition of his last sickness. Being 
carried to his room, the usual remedies were applied, and tem- 
porary relief was experienced. A neighboring physician was 
called in, who pronounced the case one of extreme nervous 
prostration, and prescribed absolute quiet, telling him that he 
must lay aside all mental work. For three weeks he con- 
tinued, more or less, in a restless mood, changing from his bed 
to the easy-chair, conversing a little, hearing a little from the 
daily and the religious papers, and oftener from that book 
which, of all others, was the sweetest to him — the Bible. 
Occasionally he would pass from room to room as if to get a 
little exercise ; but he was expressly ordered by his physician 
to keep quiet, to see-- no company, and to endeavor to allay 
the undue excitement which his nervous system had experi- 
enced in consequence of the peculiar circumstances to which 
we have already referred. His own impression, from the first 
of his sickness, was, that it was his last, and that he would 
never rally from it. This impression he tried to make upon 
the minds of the dear ones who clung so tenderly to him, 
talking about it with great sincerity of belief that life with 
him was drawing to a close. His favorite expression was, 
" O, glorious rest, rest for the weary." 

One day, as he passed into his study, his wife said to him, 
"Doesn't this place look inviting to you, dear, and won't 
you sit down to rest a little ? " But his mind was occupied 
in the leave-taking of that dearly-cherished room ; and as, in 
passing, he laid one hand on that well-worn Bible, the book 
from which he had drawn the exhaustless treasures of divine 
wisdom, his support and solace during the years that had 
passed, waving the other gently, as if he were bidding adieu 
to the familiar objects by which he was surrounded, he said, 
" Take good care of all these books and papers, as I know 
you will ; I have done with them forever." How sadly these 
words fell on the ears of his beloved ones; and as they 



340 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

remonstrated with him, he replied, " Yes, it is so, and you will 
soon realize it." 

There being no apparent change in him for some time, 
strong hopes were entertained that he might yet recover. 
But on the 25th of December, during the night there came 
over his countenance the change which those who were 
ministering to him could not mistake. The hand of death 
was upon him. The paralyzed tongue could no longer speak, 
but he fully comprehended the loving words and caresses of 
wife and daughter. His eye beamed with unwonted bril- 
liancy, though the seal of death was upon him. 

Sitting by his bedside, Mrs. Stow watched the change that 
was passing over that beloved countenance, and could not 
help recalling the tender memories of his own ministrations 
as he had comforted thousands of departing saints in the 
hour of dissolution. In the absence of all earthly supporters, 
she felt that she could not allow his dear spirit to pass away 
without the sound of prayer, falling, faintly it might be, but 
soothingly, on his ear. With a heart overwhelmed by her great 
grief, she read a few verses from that precious chapter which 
he had so often read in similar circumstances, — the fourteenth 
chapter of John, — and then bowed in prayer, commending the 
departing spirit to its covenant-keeping God and Saviour. 
He drank in the familiar tones of the voice which had so 
often cheered him in the hours of physical weakness and 
prostration of spirit. His face beamed with angelic bright- 
ness, and he seemed to have a glimpse of the glory of the 
" mansion," of which he had just been hearing, that his own 
Lord had " prepared " for him. 

After this his breathing grew more labored and heavy. 
His strong constitution, still so vigorous, yielded reluctantly 
to the pressure of disease, and the dying spirit seemed loath 
to leave a tenement bearing so few marks of decay. There 
was no word spoken, not even a look, to show that he was 
conscious of what was passing. There was nothing to in- 
dicate that he was enduring physical sufferings ; but slowly, 
and apparently without pain, the soul was preparing to take 



ADDRESS OF DE. lOJALE. 341 

its heavenly flight. At seven o'clock A. M., on the 27th of 
December, 1869, the last struggle was over, and the weary 
spirit was at rest. O, what a rest it was to him ! What a 
happy release ! What a blessed reunion with " a great multi- 
tude whom no man can number, who had come up out of 
great tribulation, having washed their robes and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb ! " 

The announcement of the death of Dr. Stow made a pro- 
found impression on the religious community. It was diffi- 
cult to realize that he, who so recently had been seen in the 
customary places of his resort, had departed never to return. 
Everything was done which respect and affection could do 
to render the solemnities of the funeral befitting the memory 
of one who held so warm a place in the hearts of his numer- 
ous friends. Prayer was offered, at his residence on Harrison 
Avenue, by Rev. Mr. Foljambe, and the remains were borne 
to the Clarendon Avenue Church. The spacious edifice was 
filled with sincere mourners, most of whom had been under 
his pastoral care during the long period of his ministry in 
Boston. Introductory services having been performed by 
Rev. A. J. Gordon, the ministering brethren who had been se- 
lected by the deceased performed the duties assigned to them. 
Addresses were made by Rev. Drs. Neale, Warren, and Mur- 
dock, and the funeral prayer was offered by Dr. Stockbridge. 

Address oe Rev. R. H. Keale, D. D. 

I never rose before an audience to perform a public official 
service when I felt so inadequate rightly to meet the occasion. 
The death of our brother has taken us all by surprise. We 
noticed, indeed, his absence from the recent dedication, in 
which he was expected to take part, and I was told that he 
was sick at home. I wish I had gone at once to see him ; but 
I supposed he was suffering only from a passing shadow, 
occasioned, perhaps, by existing circumstances. I fully ex- 
pected to meet him here at the recognition services on Sun- 
day evening last. Though disappointed, I did not dream of 
serious illness. Late in the evening I was startled by the 



3-12 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

rumor that his physician thought him dangerous, and that 
his recovery was doubtful ; but knowing his temperament, his 
tendency to depression, I thought a visit of friendship next 
morning, and a few words of encouragement, such as we both 
needed, and as had often passed between us, would be 
welcome to him, if not an effectual restorative. I was ac- 
cordingly on my way to his house for this purpose. The crape 
on the door was the first silent but impressive voice which 
announced that my friend was gone. As the sad news rapid- 
ly spread through the city from one to another, the downcast 
look, the tearful eye, friend grasping friend by the hand in 
silence, told the deep sorrow all felt. His ministering brethren, 
assembled in groups, his church members, his many friends, 
who loved him tenderly, and to whom for years his voice and 
features have been familiar and sacred as the Sabbath and 
the sanctuary, were seen weeping. There was a solemnity 
throughout the city on hearing of his death, and spontaneous 
expressions of respect and esteem for one who has been so 
long and so favorably known among us. 

He was called to Boston in 1832, where he has remained 
till the time of his death, first as pastor of the Baldwin Place 
Church, and then of the Rowe Street, now Clarendon Avenue 
Church. Such is the brief record. But of the unwritten history, 
of the excellences of his personal character, what shall I say ? 
He disliked extravagant eulogy, and in his last sickness, with 
characteristic modesty, expressed a wish that no flattering 
compliments would be paid at his funeral. But I cannot 
refrain from uttering what I know is the universal sentiment, 
— not to praise him, but to the glory of divine grace, — that 
he was one of the best and purest of men, a bright ornament 
of the Christian ministry, an honor to his denomination, who 
have always appreciated his worth, and who will not fail to 
cherish his memory among their choicest treasures. He has 
passed through a long life without a stain upon his moral 
character, without a blemish upon his reputation. A rich in- 
heritance has he left to his family, and friends, and the cause 
of Christ, in that good name which is more precious than 



ADDRESS OF DE. NEALE. 343 

rubies. Dr. Stow was known for his uniform sweetness of 
spirit, an unusual refinement of manner, and a high degree of 
Christian courtesy in his intercourse with society. I never 
heard of a quarrel to which he was a party. It may be 
thought, perhaps, that he was too careful and prudent in 
keeping clear from conflicts and difficulties. I used to exhort 
him, ludicrously enough, I have no doubt, to those who know 
my own deficiencies in this respect, to be more belligerent, 
firm, and self-asserting, especially where, as I thought, im- 
portant principles were involved ; but he would mildly reply, 
" A bishop must be no striker, but gentle, showing all meek- 
ness unto all men." 

Dr. Stow has been distinguished in past years, and will be 
remembered hereafter, I doubt not, as preeminently powerful 
in the pulpit. To those who have known him only in the full- 
ness of his maturity, he has appeared principally as a sound, 
judicious man ; somewhat enfeebled in frame, but with unim- 
paired mental power ; a reliable and safe counsellor, fitted to 
any position of trust where character and wisdom were re- 
quired ; embodying weighty sentiments in short, pithy para- 
graphs, furnishing rich and most instructive articles of denomi- 
national history in the Christian Watchman and Reflector, 
with which he has been connected editorially the past two 
years ; preparing appropriate resolutions for public meetings ; 
giving counsel and facilitating business in the missionary 
rooms, and in the boards of trustees at Newton and Provi- 
dence; evincing always a remarkable instinct and insight — 
" long feelers," as Dr. Wayland used to say of him ; seeing 
at a glance the varying currents of public thought, and with 
wonderful adroitness making them subservient to his purpose 
by saying the right thing at the right time. As a preacher to 
the younger portion of his hearers, he has appeared sincere 
and earnest indeed, uttering rich, solid gospel truth, but with- 
out any attempt at eloquence or ornament. He always de- 
lighted in what he called the Pauline style — sound speech 
that could not be condemned, in doctrine, showing uncorrupt- 
ness, gravity, sincerity, and withal showing himself a pattern 



344 MEMOIE OP DR. STOW. 

of good works, so that they who were of the contrary part might 
be ashamed, having no evil thing to say -of him. But I remem- 
ber, — and so do others, — that wiien he first came to Boston, 
and for years afterwards, no man stood higher as a pulpit ora- 
tor. He was a most effective speaker, not only the equal of his 
brethren, but their acknowledged superior, taller by the head 
and shoulders than the men of Israel. The spacious house in 
Baldwin Place was thronged with admiring listeners Sabbath 
after Sabbath, year in and year out. The students from New- 
ton and Cambridge esteemed it a privilege, as I well know, to 
come afoot into the city for the purpose of being present at 
his Sunday evening lecture. He was then full of vital energy. 
His eye sparkled with animation. His clear, sonorous, ring- 
ing voice fell delightfully upon the ear. There was a resist- 
less power in his eloquence, like the sweep and swell of an 
ocean wave. He had his audience completely at his com- 
mand, moving them to alternate smiles and tears, and, like a 
skilful helmsman, turning them, at will, " whithersoever the 
governor listeth." And what is better still, the secret of his 
power was, that he walked with God. He lived near to the 
cross. He went from his knees into the pulpit, and spoke un- 
der the influence of an unction from the Holy One. Hence 
he obtained what his heart most desired — not praises for him- 
self, but trophies for his Master, penitential tears, rejoicing 
converts, and souls redeemed. Gratefully do I remember at 
this hour those refreshing seasons from the presence of the 
Lord which I have shared with him, when his heart was filled 
with gladness, and his countenance shone as it had been the 
face of an angel. 

There was another feature in his character and experience 
so prominent to those acquainted with him in his earlier and 
later years, that I am unwilling to pass it by without notice. 
More than any man I ever knew, Dr. Stow had the power of 
inspiring confidence, and attaching others to himself. There 
was something in his voice and manner, something in his look, 
his eye, and still more in his heart, that gave an impression to 
others that he loved them ; and he did, and they loved him in 



ADDRESS OF DR. NEALE. 345 

return. Other students, however good and pious, had their 
enemies as well as friends. The officers, excellent men as 
they were known to be, Conant, Chase, Knowles, Dr. Staugh- 
ton even, were not universally popular. But the Faculty, and 
all the students, north and south, from the seniors down to 
the fourth class in the preparatory school, loved Baron Stow, 
and spoke of him in terms of unqualified praise. And thus 
it has been in his after life. The church at Portsmouth, and 
the Baptists of New Hampshire generally, perfectly idolized 
him, and do so to this day. The Baldwin Place people, through 
his entire pastorate, — I bear them record, — were ready 
to pluck out their own eyes, and give them to him. He came 
to the Rowe Street Church like the sun in its meridian. Here 
he found a people always ready to throw around him every 
kindly influence, and to save him, so far as possible, from any 
element of the " shady side." No woe was near him, or in 
prospect, only that all men spoke well of him. Other minis- 
ters generally have to meet a diversity of opinion among 
their hearers — a mixture of likes and dislikes. With him, 
on the contrary, life seemed an unbroken, balmy summer's 
day — no clouds in his sky, no thorns in his path. What 
minister was ever more highly esteemed in this community, 
during a period of now nearly forty years, than he ? What 
pastor was ever more tenderly cherished by his ministering 
brethren, or more warmly welcomed to our churches and pul- 
pits ? Indeed, the misfortune was, that he has been, through 
life, I had almost said, a petted favorite. Hence he felt the 
more keenly those trials which are sure to come sooner or 
later to us all. It is a hard lesson, that of the old prophet, 
but strictly true — " It is good for a man that he should bear 
the yoke in his youth." 

The dissolution of Dr. Stow's pastoral relation was indeed 
a crushing trial to himself as well as to his people. He loved 
to preach. He was at home in the pulpit. He was never so 
happy as in that work from which, in the providence of God, 
he was now laid aside. It was a second nature to him, nay, his 
highest and di vines t, to go in and out before a loved and lov- 



346 MEMOIR OF DB. STOW. 

ing people, breaking to them the bread of life. I do not won- 
der that he felt unreconciled to the marked change, which, 
however imperative the cause, had occurred in his outward 
relations. With no ministerial charge, he hardly knew what 
to do with himself. His Sabbaths, which had been so light, 
were now dark and dreary. His people, and all the churches 
in the city, as well as his ministering brethren, sympathized 
with him in his sadness, and would, I believe, one and all, 
had it been in their power, have gladly dispelled the .gloom 
which they saw settling down upon his tender and sensitive 
heart. But that gloom is now removed, that burden lifted 
by the hand of God. A Sabbath brighter than that of earth 
has dawned upon him, a temple not made with hands is open 
for his ascending spirit. He understands now as never before 
those precious words he loved to repeat to the weary and the 
sorrow-stricken : " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors ; and their works do follow them." 

Of my personal relations with Dr. Stow I scarcely dare 
trust myself to speak. We have been acquainted from our 
college days. We have been settled as pastors in the imme- 
diate vicinity of each other. We have met often in the social 
circle and the religious meeting. No collision of feeling, still 
less of words, ever occurred between us. We have lived to- 
gether as brothers, confiding and trustful, freely opening our 
hearts to one another without reserve, and without fear of 
betrayal. He spoke of this in our last interview, and left a 
dying message that I should take part at his funeral. " For," 
he said, " he will speak a kind word of me." Dear brother, 
what else could I say ? Those folded hands were never lifted 
but for my good. Those lips, now closed and silent, never 
wounded my feelings. I cannot repress my tears, standing as 
I now do over the coffin of my life-long friend. I am dis- 
tressed for thee, my brother ; very pleasant hast thou been 
unto us. 

I sympathize with the people of his late charge in the emo- 
tions awakened in their bosoms by the solemnities of this oc- 



ADDRESS OF DR. MURDOCK. 347 

casion, and with the youthful pastor who has recently entered 
upon his new position, made the more responsible and sacred 
by the death of his revered predecessor. 

It will not be considered, I am sure, assuming, if I say a 
word to my brethren in the ministry, standing as I do among 
you, of my early associates in the sacred office, almost alone. 
How obvious and how impressive to us are the lessons of this 
hour ! What are admiring assemblies and human applause ? 
There is no source of hope or of present comfort on which we 
can safely rest, aside from the favor of God, and the sweet 
consciousness of having endeavored to do our duty. Let us, 
in this solemn and instructive presence, dedicate ourselves 
anew to Christ and his cross, and so preach and so live, that, 
when summoned hence, we may hear the voice of divine ap- 
proval, which, I doubt not, has already cheered the heart of 
our departed brother, — 

" Servant of God, well done ; 
Rest from thy loved employ ; 
The battle fought, the victory won, 
Enter thy Master's joy." 

Address of Rev. J. N. Murdock, D. D. 

I seem to be standing to-day as in a dream, and the vision 
is mixed. On a bright, autumnal Sabbath morning, I am sit- 
ting in the old Baldwin Place Church, one of a crowded au- 
dience, drawn there by the fame of the most popular Baptist 
preacher in the United States. The preacher is in the prime 
of life. His massive and sinewy frame, his striking, and beau- 
tiful countenance, the large, lustrous dark eye, the open brow, 
the compressed lips, the eagle front, the raven hair, altogether 
are well fitted to arrest attention and excite interest. He 
speaks, and the deep bass of that marvellous voice floats over 
the great throng, and fills every part of the house with its 
witchery. The sermon is finished with careful elaboration, 
but the hearer is most impressed with its intensely practical 
pharacter, and the deep earnestness of the preacher. 



348 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

The scene is changed. Twenty-six years and more have 
passed, and I am again in the house of God ; but it is not the 
same. Here, too, is the vast concourse, but much changed 
from that earlier time. Many, O, how many, of that congre- 
gation are in another assembly to-day ! The preacher is also 
here. But the noble form is prostrate, not erect, as then ; the 
imperial brow is marble, not flushed with feeling, as then ; 
there is no breath in the nostrils; the wondrous light has 
gone out of the eyes, and the lips that dropped wisdom and 
distilled sweetness are mute. I look upon him, but the 
quick glow of recognition lights not his countenance as it 
has never failed to do since that first hour in which I saw 
and heard him. No, the vision deceives us — this is not 
he. He has passed on to that other assembly, of which I 
have spoken, and there are more there to greet him with a 
heavenly welcome than are left here to mourn his loss. He 
is gone ; and we have come here, a vast concourse, to honor 
his dear remains, to sing our dirges, to commemorate him 
in a few tributary words, and leave our flowing tears to ex- 
press what our poor words never can. 

In 1846 Dr. Stow penned these emphatic words : " The 
spirit of missions is the spirit of concord. The key-note 
was struck on the plains of Bethlehem, and all who have 
sympathy with the angelic announcement are sure to think, 
feel, speak, and act in concert both with the heavenly host 
and with each other." 

How far the life-long devotion of the writer of these 
words to the cause of Christian missions, which has been 
so fitly commemorated by my associate, contributed to form 
those sentiments of Christian brotherhood which he aimed 
to vindicate and illustrate by his pen and in his life, this is 
neither the time nor the place to inquire. Nor need we ask 
to-day in what manner or to what extent his large Christian 
sympathies excited his devotion to the work of universal 
evangelization. But of one thing we may be sure : he never 
would have pursued the great enterprise to which he gave 
the best energies of his mind and heart with such constancy 



ADDEESS OF DE. MUEDOCK. 349 

and devotion, had he been less cosmopolitan in his Christian 
spirit. He was zealous, not so much for the growth of a 
sect, as for the spread of the truth as it is in Jesus ; not merely 
for the success of a peculiar form of church polity, but for 
the enlargement of Christian charity. He aimed at no party 
triumph, but at the renovation of all men, and the diffusion 
of love and good-will throughout the world. Rarely, if ever, 
was his voice heard among the disputes of this world. He 
shrank from controversy, and held himself aloof from polemi- 
cal strife. So marked has been his entire course in this re- 
spect, that those who knew not the depth of his personal con- 
victions, and the loyal spirit that animated him, have some- 
times regarded him as timid, if not lax, in his devotion to his 
professed principles. 

Yet, in point of fact, his theology was of the strictest evan- 
gelical type. He held strongly to the moderate, perhaps I 
ought to say the real, Calvinism of Fuller, and the better class 
of the New England school, as generally embodied in the con- 
fessions of our churches. He was, moreover, a Baptist, stand- 
ing by the peculiar views of the denomination as to the scrip- 
tural subjects and mode of baptism, and maintaining them in 
all their length and breadth with well-defined clearness and 
inflexible tenacity. And as to timidity, there was a spirit in 
this man that would have carried him to the stake, and 
crowned him with the glory of martyrdom, for an iota of 
scriptural truth, had he been asked to deny or renounce it — in 
the true spirit of that gentle saint of the olden time, who, on 
the way to the stake, declared, " I cannot contend for Christ, 
but I can die for him." Even in the denunciation of sin he 
could not, as he expressed it, " add his wrath to the wrath of 
God ; " but when hollow pretence was to be exposed, when 
greed was to be scouted, when uncharitableness was to be re- 
buked, when any vice, having its roots in the selfishness and 
corruption of human nature, required condemnation, the sword 
of the Spirit came flashing and ringing from his tongue on 
the head of offence and offender. The inborn integrity of his 
soul-, as well as his loyalty to Christ, made it impossible for 



350 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

him to be silent in cases where the Word of God denounced 
condemnation. It was the exceeding breadth of his charac- 
ter, and not his lack of manliness ; the generosity of his spirit, 
and not the selfish prudence of his nature ; the fear lest he 
might, by some unguarded word, offend Christ's little ones, 
and not an excessive care for his own reputation ; his quick 
and sensitive conscientiousness, and not a time-serving tem- 
per, that conspired to make him so circumspect and meas- 
ured in his treatment of those differences which existed be- 
tween him and his Christian brethren of other names. The 
candid observer of Dr. Stow's public character must have been 
impressed with the generously catholic spirit which inspired 
him, and the broad charity which enlisted his sympathies and 
controlled his utterances. He judged no man, least of all 
condemned no man, for a course different from that which he 
had prescribed for himself. Always loyal to the traditions of 
his people, he held firmly and consistently to the great semi- 
nal principle of our corporate and public life, the idea of free- 
dom of thought, in the absence of which opinion becomes 
simply automatic, and not personal. His soul was baptized 
into the plenitude of the sentiment expressed in Melanchthon's 
celebrated aphorism, " In essentials, unity ; in non-essentials, 
liberty ; in all things, charity." 

And so it has fallen to the lot of our departed friend and 
brother to pursue the work of the ministry amid the sharp an- 
tagonisms of the time, for more than forty years, respected 
and loved by Christians of other persuasions ; respected for 
the firmness with which he has maintained his denominational 
tenets, and loved for the gentleness of his bearing and the 
benignity of his character. 

A great man and a prince in Israel has fallen. Dr. Stow 
was something more, something better, than a brilliant genius 
or a profound intellect. He was great in his moral stature, 
in the probity of his nature, in the purity of his life, and in 
the circumspectness of his conduct. What he wrote and pub- 
lished in various volumes, as well as in the periodical press, 
has contributed somewhat, as we may well believe, to. the 



ADDEESS OF DE. MUEDOCR. 351 

religious inspiration and progress of his time ; but what he was 
has been more pregnant with power than anything his pen 
has produced. He was a living epistle, read and known of 
men. And the grand volume of character which his life un- 
folded, and his death completed, may be studied with advan- 
tage, nay, will be studied, by generations to come. It is 
unique, individual, strongly marked ; never will it disappear 
from sight in the confusion of the common mass. Nor can 
the closing chapters be marred by any weakness or imperfec- 
tion now. It was the remark of a friendly critic during the 
almost frantic effort of Sir Walter Scott, in his last days, to 
retrieve his pecuniary fortunes by producing books for the 
sake of the copyrights they yielded — " Scott wrote himself up 
grandly ; it were a mercy for him to die before he writes him- 
self down." This benignant, just, honorable character is at 
least secure against the chance of future failure. The past is 
secure. The able preacher, the faithful pastor, the public- 
spirited benefactor, the wise counsellor, the upright man, the 
constant friend, — these are henceforth as fixed in our memo- 
ries as they have been dear to our hearts. 

Dr. Stow will be mourned not alone by this community, 
where he has spent the larger portion of his life, and which 
he has served in so many ways ; not alone by his own denom- 
ination, to whose prosperity in all the elements of real growth 
he has devoted his best energies, but throughout the land, 
and by all who revere goodness and prize integrity of heart. 
His name has gone out through the land as a symbol of 
strength, and his death wall cause a pang to all lovers of good 
men. O, how his presence will be missed, and in how many 
spheres of Christian effort ! That committee-room, where, for 
thirty-seven years, his visits have been as constant as the suc- 
cession of the weeks — what a void will be there ! And the 
council boards of our seats of learning, where he so long pre- 
sided, and helped so largely to shape the policies which have 
begun to lead us to higher planes of culture, and larger meas- 
ures of efficiency — who shall supply his place there ? And 
that desolated home. But we may not invade the privacy 



352 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

of this great sorrow. We shall miss hirn, but he will rejoice 
in a sense of completeness he never knew till now. We 
shall mourn him, but he is where all tears are wiped from the 
eyes. He has laid down his burden ; the things that grieved 
him grieve him no more ; the night of his distress has passed, 
and the brightness of unclouded morning shines around him. 
No weariness, no heaviness, no distress, no aching heart, no 
throbbing brain, but rest and peace are his forever. 

" The peace of all the faithful, the calm of all the blest, 
Inviolate, unvaried, divinest, sweetest, best; 

Yes, peace — for strife is needless; yes, calm — for storm is past, 
And goal from finished labor, and anchorage at last." 

On the arrival of the funeral procession at Mount Auburn, 
a quartet, under the direction of General B. F. Edmands, 
the chorister of the Baldwin Place Church during the whole 
of Dr. Stow's ministry with this church, sang the following 
beautiful requiem : — 

Once more the spot with solemn awe we tread 
Where sleep the relics of our kindred dead ; 
Chant we our requiem mournfully, and slow, 
While our sad tears above their ashes flow. 

Memories, bright memories of each hallowed name, 

Wake in our hearts pure love's undying flame ; 

Yet must we leave them — leave them here to rest ; 

Green be the turf above each noble breast. 

This place to us is consecrated ground, 
Where holy, solemn quiet reigns around; 
No more can pain, or grief, or anxious care 
Reach or disturb our mourned brother here. 

Memories, bright memories of his cherished name, 

Leave in our hearts pure love's undying flame ; 

Yet must we leave him — leave him here to rest ; 

Green be the sod above his noble breast. 

Prayer was then offered by Dr. Neale, and the tender 
words of the hymn, " Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb," hav- 
ing been sung, the mourners departed from the hallowed 
spot in which the sleeper was laid away to his final rest. 



president axderson's lettee. 353 

From the numerous letters addressed to his bereaved family 
we select four, which were written by warm personal friends 
of Dr. Stow, giving us a charming portraiture of his character, 
upon which we gaze with peculiar delight. These letters 
were written by President M. B. Anderson, LL. D., of Roch- 
ester, N. Y., Rev. William Dean, D. D., of Bangkok, Siam, 
Rev. Richard Fuller, D. D., of Baltimore, Md., and Rev. 
Barnas Sears, D. D., of Staunton, Va. 

From Rev. Dr. Anderson. 

Eochester, February 8, 1870. 

My deae Mrs. Stow : Mrs. Dean, who has lately returned 
from Boston, has given me some of the particulars of the last 
hours of your husband. This brought up before my mind all 
his early and late kindness to me, and all those excellences 
of mind and heart which have always kept him before my 
mind as the noblest type that I have ever met of the " good 
minister of Jesus Christ." I was indebted to him and to you 
for recognition and kindness when I was young and unknown, 
and when I was a weak and almost discouraged invalid. As 
one of the Fellows of Brown University, he came to this city 
to make me the offer of promotion, which, I knew, had been in 
great part due to his partial kindness. These recollections are 
personal to myself, and fill a larger place in my mind and heart 
than those elements of character and intellect by which he was 
made known to the world at large, and by which he made 
his impression on Iris age as a public man. Of these ele- 
ments, that which first occurs to me is his breadth and 
elegance of culture. He had an almost shrinking delicacy 
of organization, which, while it made him susceptible to all 
beautiful and holy impressions, was, at the same time, the 
source of acute suffering in all the rude jostling of the hard 
and unfeeling world. But though he suffered from his or- 
ganization, how gentle, how considerate of others, how kind- 
ly did it make his relations with all who were blessed with 
his affection, or honored by his friendship ! 

This delicacy of taste and kindness of nature obscured, to 
23 



354 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

some extent, the grasp and range of his intellect. Had he 
been coarser and harder in his moral constitution, he would 
have made deeper impression upon the multitude. But all 
this would have been purchased at the expense of that rounded 
fullness and beauty of Christian character which gave him 
such power over those whom he took to his heart. My own 
impression has always been, that in the qualities of mind and 
character which make up the model pastor, he stood alone in 
excellence. I am not able to do justice to an analysis of his 
intellect. My knowledge of him has been almost confined to 
the points of his life and being of which, above all others, you 
have had the richest experience. I beg leave to tender you 
and your dear daughter my most respectful sympathy, and to 
assure you both of my remembrance and prayers. 

Yours truly, 

M. B. Anderson. 

From Rev. Dr. Dean. 

Bangkok, Siam, March 9, 1870. 
My dear Mrs. Stow : I need not express my love and 
veneration for the departed one. You .already know that I 
felt for him as for a brother ; yea, more than a brother. He 
was my ideal of a Christian gentleman. He came as near a 
perfect man as any one I ever knew. As a man, a friend, a 
minister, he was a model. What he was as a husband and 
a father, you and Matilda can better tell ; but I know enough 
to think that in those relations it would be difficult to find 
his equal. Your loss is great, but his gain is greater. He is 
now free from pain, and tears, and anxious care, and every sor- 
row. Nothing to disturb or distress him now. He is com- 
pletely and forever happy with that Saviour who alone is able 
to bind up your bleeding hearts. I commend you to that 
heavenly Friend, who holds in his bosom the loved one gone 
before you, and who is waiting to fold you also to his loving 
embrace. 

Most affectionately yours, 

W. Dean. 



dr. puller's letter. 355 

From Rev. Dr. Fuller. 

Baltimore, July 7, 1870. 

Miss Stow: I am happy to hear by your kind note 
that the Memoir is almost ready for the press. I felt your 
father's death as a personal bereavement, and as a great pub- 
lic loss. * 

I need say nothing of his intellectual endowments ; of his 
literary and scholarly accomplishments ; of his remarkable 
power as a preacher; of his surpassing and invaluable talent 
for that sort of business which the affairs of Christ's kingdom 
impose upon a city pastor; of the faithfulness and tenderness 
with which he fed and tended the flock of Jesus ; of his pro- 
found and yet most simple and evangelical system of gospel 
truth ; or of his deep, all-pervading, all-controlling personal 
piety. I never knew a human being who seemed to me to 
have throned the Redeemer more entirely and practically over 
his mind, conscience, heart, and life ; and I need not speak of 
these attributes, because they were and are everywhere ac- 
knowledged and admired. 

But there were two traits in Dr. Stow's character which 
every day grow in my esteem, because I every day see how 
rare they are. The first was his perfect candor. No matter 
how dear any one might be to him, he was always scrupulous- 
ly sincere. I do not believe he ever feared the face of man, 
or ever uttered a single word of flattery. The other excel- 
lence was his rigid, unswerving adherence to truth, always and 
in all things. This latter quality may, by many, be regarded 
as, after all, no exalted distinction ; but those who think thus 
know little of the world, the church, or themselves. Each 
year of my life teaches me that to strict veracity we may ap- 
ply what Jesus says of faith, and ask, When the Son of Man 
cometh, will he find truth upon the earth ? One of the pur- 
est and most honorable men I ever knew remarked that his 
" besetting sin was lying." It was a confession which none 
but a most conscientious person would ever make ; and every 
conscientious person comprehends him, understands what cir- 
cumspection and grace it requires in conversation, in business, 



356 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

in speaking of men and things, never to allow any ambiguity 
of thought, word, or action ; never to permit passion or preju- 
dice to sway us one hair's breadth from perfect singleness of 
purpose ; always to hold fast our integrity, and to move, and 
live, and have our being under the searching inspection of the 
eye of God. In this element of nobleness my beloved brother 
exemplified the character of Jesus. He combined the under- 
standing of the man with the guileless simplicity of a child. 
At this time especially his death is a lamentable calamity. 
Although the war has long closed, yet civil war always leaves 
behind it, rooted in the very structure, of society, interwoven 
with all the ramifications of thought, feeling, interest in a state, 
the most baleful evils. The animosities and exasperations 
which still continue to afflict our beloved country can never 
be healed by politicians. The gospel is the only remedy. 
And, as few ministers possessed so much of the spirit of Jesus 
as my brother, so no one was more anxious, by prayer and 
kindly mediation, to remove " all bitterness, and wrath, and 
anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice," and to 
restore the good old times, when, north, south, east, west, 
Christians should be " kind one to another, tender-hearted, 
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath for- 
given them." 

Personally we have long been warm and devoted friends 
and brothers. If, during the war, there was some chill of love 
between us, nothing could ever abate my affectionate rever- 
ence for his virtue ; and he never met me more warmly, and 
opened his soul more fraternally to me, than he did the first 
time we met after hostilities had ceased. During my last 
confidential interview with him at Jamaica Plain, I was 
moved beyond measure as he unbosomed himself to me, as I 
perceived the sorrow which was weighing upon his sphits, 
and yet witnessed the faith, firmness, purity, gentleness, 
mildness, which hallowed his parting days, raising, his affec- 
tions above the earth, and fixing them upon heaven. 
Very sincerely, my dear Miss Stow, 

R. Fuller. 



DR. SEARS'S LETTER. 357 

From Rev. Dr. Sears. 

Staunton, Va., September 1, 1870. 

My dear Mrs. Stow : It gives me pleasure, though not 
unmingled with sadness, to comply with your request, and 
furnish some personal recollections of your late excellent hus- 
band. He was one of my oldest, warmest, truest, and best 
friends. Few deaths outside of my family circle would be 
more sensibly felt by me. I formed his acquaintance in 
1825, at the house of the late Hon. Heman Lincoln, whose 
guests we were, and whose cordial friendship we both enjoyed 
ever after. I recollect distinctly our first interview, and even 
the first topic of our conversation. It related to the qualifi- 
cations of James D. Knowles, then editor of the Columbian 
Star, published in Washington, for the professorship of ora- 
tory and belles-lettres at Brown University. We were then 
fresh graduates from our respective colleges, and naturally 
felt our great responsibilities. Still it was hardly proper for 
us to make any movement as long as the Hon. Tristam 
Burgess held that position. The vacancy finally occurred, 
and the corporation, without consulting us, appointed William 
E. Goddard. 

During the first ten years of our acquaintance, our inter- 
course was limited, as we resided in different states ; but from 
the time of his removal to Boston, and mine to Newton, our 
intimacy was close, and continued uninterrupted to the last. 
By means of these changes, Dr. Stow became the successor 
of Mr. Knowles as pastor, and I his associate as professor. 
When it was decided to establish the Christian Review as a 
Baptist quarterly, Professor Knowles was appointed its first 
editor, and Dr. Stow and myself afterwards became contrib- 
utors. When the Review languished for want of patronage, 
it was at the instance of Dr. Stow that I went south, as far 
as Richmond and Norfolk, to take measures for increasing its 
circulation beyond the boundaries of New England. The 
object was accomplished, and the Review from that time con- 
tinued prosperous till the sudden death of its editor, in 1838. 
The next number was issued by Dr. Stow and myself, in 



358 MEMOIR OF DE. STOW. 

which the former paid a suitable tribute to the memory of his 
early and intimate Mend. He then proposed that I should 
assume the editorship, relying on him as one of the regular 
contributors. He was at the same time chairman of the com- 
mittee of publication. As it became necessary, in the course 
of time, to be relieved of some of my duties, I thought it best 
to withdraw from my position as editor. To my letter of 
resignation Dr. Stow wrote the following reply : — 

Boston, September 28, 1840. 

My deae Beothee : I have this morning laid before the 
committee of the Christian Review your resignation of the 
•office of editor. They agree with you that the duties of your 
important professorship are quite enough for any one man, 
and that it is exceedingly desirable that you should be able 
to give yourself exclusively to those duties. They also agree 
with you that one man -ought to give his whole energies to 
the conducting of the Christian Review. But, alas ! we are 
exceedingly deficient in men suited to responsible positions, 
and every man who is worth much in our denomination is 
obliged to perform for the present the labor of two, and even 
three, fondly hoping that the Lord of the harvest will yet 
multiply laborers, and bring relief to those who are sinking 
under accumulated burdens. 

The committee, in consulting with the publishers, were in- 
formed that -probably you might be induced to continue your 
labors as editor, at least another year, provided some arrange- 
ment could be made to reduce the amount of labor and re- 
sponsibility. If you could associate one or two with you in 
the service, in whom you may have confidence, and thus di- 
vide the severities of the office, while you should yourself 
retain the ultimate and authoritative supervision, the arrange- 
ment would be satisfactory to the committee, and, we pre- 
sume, to the public. Are you willing to negotiate, upon these 
terms, for a continuance in the office ? 

Let me entreat you to reconsider the decision to which you 
have come, and not to settle the matter definitively without 



DR. STOW'S INTEREST IN MISSIONS AND EDUCATION. 359 

further conversation with the committee. You will probably 

be in the city next Monday, when, if convenient to yourself, 

I should like an interview upon this very important subject. 

Your companion in the kingdom, and patience, &c, 

Baron Stow. 

The Baptist Triennial Convention for Foreign Missions 
was, at the time of its dissolution, in debt to the amount of 
forty thousand dollars, and Dr. Stow and myself were ap- 
pointed a committee to make up this deficiency. I soon saw 
the advantage of having such an associate. Nothing contrib- 
uted more to our success than his personal popularity. 

Some years afterwards, several causes were in operation to 
embarrass and discourage the friends of ministerial education. 
In some quarters, where it was least to be expected, education 
societies and theological institutions were spoken of in dis- 
paraging terms. From a very different source also, charac- 
terized by a lack of intelligence and public spirit, came grave 
expressions of doubt as to the expediency of training learned 
men for the ministry. The people were easily persuaded to 
withhold their contributions. At this crisis Dr. Stow came 
forward with great earnestness and zeal, and rallied around 
him the friends of this important but declining interest. The 
churches hardly know how much they are indebted to his 
efforts for the high qualifications of the ministers whose ser- 
vices they now enjoy. I received from him the two follow- 
ing letters on this subject : — 

Boston, June 3, 1844. 
My dear Brother : I take it for granted that you are 
not ignorant of the condition of the Northern Baptist Educa- 
tion Society, or of the evils by which its operations are em- 
barrassed — external evils that obstruct its progress, inter- 
nal evils that cripple its activity. As my brethren, who, te 
judice, know how to impose Pelion upon Ossa, have laid upon 
me the responsibility of presiding over this society, I am dis- 
posed to make an effort to remedy some of these evils, and 



360 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

to infuse into the institution some new elements of life and 
energy. In forming my plans, I feel the need of counsel, and 
I know of no one to whom I can apply with greater confidence 
than to yourself. 

Reserving some points for a private interview, I now pro- 
pose only one for your consideration ; and that is, the ex- 
pediency of inviting a conference of judicious brethren from 
all the New England States for the purpose of comparing 
views with respect to the subject of ministerial education, 
and, by a concentration of wisdom, endeavoring to agree 
upon some principles in accordance with which we may 
direct our combined and harmonious efforts. The general 
question should be, What can be done to increase the power 
of our ministry f I need not prove to you that our ministry 
needs strengthening, or that causes are in operation which 
threaten to carry still farther the deteriorating process. Un- 
less something is soon and efficiently done to arrest that 
process, our denominational interests, in all their departments, 
will suffer. We must have more power in our pulpit. 

In this conviction you and I are not alone. But standing 
apart and complaining of the evil, or acting without concert, 
will provide no effectual remedy. We need a mutual under- 
standing of the causes and the nature of the evil, and of the 
means by which it may be cured. How can we better reach 
this desirable point than by the mode which I have suggested ? 

I do not propose to call a " mass meeting," but to invite 
privately a meeting of some fifteen or twenty pastors, and 
several of the officers of our theological institutions, colleges, 
and academies, and perhaps a few laymen, that they may 
leisurely, fully, and prayerfully consider the whole subject, and 
come to agreement as to the course proper to be pursued. 

Can you suggest anything better, as a first step, than such 
an interview ? Allow me respectfully to solicit a frank ex- 
pression of your opinion. 

Affectionally your brother and fellow-laborer, 

Baron Stow. 

Rev. Dr. Sears. 



NORTHERN BAPTIST EDUCATION SOCIETY. 361 

Boston, June 10, 1844. 

My dear Brother : Your favor of the 4th was received. 
As I may not have an opportunity to see you at present, I 
beg leave to say that my object in writing you as I did was 
not to obtain your opinion as to the condition and policy of 
the Northern Baptist Education Society, but simply to ascer- 
tain your views touching the expediency of inviting such a 
conference as I proposed. Nor do I propose that such a con- 
ference, if called, shall be troubled with details respecting the 
affairs of the Education Society. I have supposed it desirable 
that judicious brethren should be brought together to confer 
upon the great question of ministerial education, and see if there 
could not be produced a unity of sentiment and a strength 
of feeling that might lead to the adoption of an harmonious 
and vigorous system of action. It seems to me that we are 
not united as it respects our true policy. Certainly there 
is very little cooperation. The consequence is, that we work 
inefficiently, because we work without concert. What one 
does another undoes, — without design, of course, and yet 
as effectually as if counteraction was the real purpose. 

I dislike exceedingly to proceed in this matter, for it seems 
like assuming that I am one of the right kind of ministers, 
and the proper person to go forward in an enterprise of re- 
form. But what shall be done? If there is another person 
in the land who will undertake the service, and the brethren 
should be disposed to cooperate with him, I will gladly be 
his humble servant. The subject lies heavily on my heart, 
and I cannot rest until something is done that promises good 
to our Zion. 

Pardon me for troubling you a second time. I expect to 
leave the city in a few days, to be absent some weeks. Please 
think of the suggestions which I have made, and, when con- 
venient, we will have an interview. 
In haste, 

Yours, very fraternally, 

Baron Stow. 

Rev. Dr. Sears. 



362 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

At the meeting of the Missionary Union, held in Philadel- 
phia in 1858, an alarming state of things in regard to our 
foreign missions was developed. These appeared to be a 
general dissatisfaction both with the home policy and the 
foreign operations of the society. In this unexpected crisis, 
when the elements of opposition to the existing system be- 
came too powerful to be controlled, a few brethren ventured 
to propose a new mode of action. This modified system was 
indeed imperfect, having been devised at the moment, with- 
out time for elaborating it ; but it had this one merit — it 
saved the society from dissolution. The present state of our 
foreign missions grew out of that movement. Dr. Stow, who 
had been obliged to leave the city before any decisive action 
~was taken, was, in his absence, appointed to take an impor- 
tant part in carrying out the new policy. His letters writ- 
ten to me at that time will be read with interest. 

Boston, June 5, 1858. 

My dear Brother : Your kind favor of the 3d instant has 
just come to hand, and though I am poorly prepared for to- 
morrow's work, yet I cannot forbear to respond to your fra- 
ternal communication. 

I was obliged to leave Philadelphia on Thursday morning, 
at the hour of the meeting of the Union. Dear old Mrs. 
Baldwin was even then twenty-four hours dead, and I had to 
hasten home to attend her funeral. As I left, I felt sad. 
Everything foreshadowed a breaking up. I supposed that 
there would be a revolution. Little did I apprehend such a 
revolution as you and Dr. Parker and Hon. Mr. Duncan inau- 
gurated. On Sabbath morning Deacon C. called, and in- 
formed me of what had been done. I knew not how to 
interpret the action. No one had whispered to me that my 
services might be desirable in any department. I did not 
even dream that the first man would think of me as foreign 
secretary. I had given up the Union. 

I have not been able to convince myself that any member 



CALL TO THE SECRETARY'S CHAIR. 363 

of the Board could suppose it probable that I would leave 
the pastoral office for any position, sacred or secular, in the 
gift of any organization. In a ministry of thirty-one years, I 
have often been invited away from my chosen department of 
labor, and I have as often resisted every inducement to vacate 
the pulpit and pastorate. Twice — in 1835 and in 1841 — I 
was elected corresponding secretary of the Triennial Conven- 
tion, and in both instances declined the appointment for the 
sake of a work to which I regarded myself as called by my 
Master. For the last few years I have supposed that I might 
be let alone, to finish out the remnant of my life as preacher 
and pastor. 

Now a demand comes in a new shape, and under new, 
wholly new circumstances. The trial is to. me a severe one. 
I am constantly pressed, orally and by letters, to undertake 
this work. I see what is to be done, and how it can be done, 
and my heart is in it ; but I cannot see that my Master re- 
quires me to venture into the breach, and take hold of the 
service. Yesterday I had made up my mind that I could not 
accept the appointment, when Dr. Warren called, and in- 
formed me of what had occurred in Burmah. This intelli- 
gence, so unexpected, so mysterious, threw me back upon the 
main question. I am well nigh unmanned by the providential 
bearings of this dispensation. What can it mean ? Had this 
news reached the Union while in session, what would have 
been the action ? I see now no obstacle in Burmah to the 
easy and complete carrying out of the full purposes of the 
Union and its Board. The executive committee will now be 
unembarrassed, and will act as a unit. I stand still and adore ! 
No sooner had the grand barrier to conciliation and peace 
been swept away here at home than the news comes that 
God has taken away the principal barrier to conciliation and 
peace abroad ! " Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, 
O God of Israel, the Saviour." 

I shall be glad to hear further from you. There is immedi- 
ate work for a foreign secretary, and I must soon settle the 
question. It is in my heart to aid the executive committee in 



364 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

the adjustment of the machinery to the new policy ; but I am 
not convinced that I ought to resign my pastorate, throwing 
aside all my professional capital, and enter, at my age, a new 
department of service. Help me by your counsels and 
prayers. 

Your brother and fellow-laborer, 

Baron - Stow. 

Boston, June 11, 1858 
My dear Brother : Since I wrote you on the 5th, I have 
been impelled by a sense of duty to decline the appointment 
of foreign secretary, on the ground that I could not leave my 
present field of labor. The executive committee have since 
requested me to withdraw my declination, and consent to 
render such service as may be compatible with my duties as 
preacher and pastor. This presents the question in a new 
form ; but I hesitate, for how can I take the additional bur- 
den ? Besides, I am pained by some new elements that have 
appeared. ... I am oppressed with anxiety, and really 
need counsel. Can you find time to write me your thoughts ? 
. . . We have truly fallen on strange times. "God be 
merciful to us sinners." 

Very fraternally, &c, 

Baron Stow. 

With all his seriousness and earnestness, Dr. Stow had also 
a vein of playful humor, which sometimes appeared in his 
correspondence. In a letter of June 29, 1867, he said, in 
closing, " Dr. Sears, you are rather hard upon your friend of 
forty-two years' standing. Always too modest! The past 
forgiven. But future delinquencies in that line not to be par- 
doned — even by Andrew Johnson ! Well, that opens for 
me a dismal prospect. I am too old to change in that mat- 
ter ; and if the only depreciative record of my life be ' too 
modest,' I shall be one of the few guilty. I nevertheless take 
your hint for the present emergency." 

Writing to me once about the difficulty of securing varied 



CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF DR. STOW. 365 

and natural elocution in college performances, which in his 
view was very desirable, he said, somewhat spicily, "I under- 
stand very well that when a student has labored much upon 
his oration, and had it cut down, and cut uj), shortened, and 
spliced, and made almost anything but what he intended, his 
heart is taken out of it, and refuses to return, so that he can 
hardly be expected to do more than exhibit a dried prepara- 
tion. But still it seems to me he might be made to diversify 
his tones, and vary his inflections, even though he should do 
it as a formality." 

These are but a few specimens of the many letters received 
from my old friend during a life-long correspondence ; but 
as they are chiefly of a personal nature, and are so pervaded 
by a spirit of partial friendship, that they cannot with proprie- 
ty be given to the public. 

It is not my purpose to narrate the life or portray the char- 
acter of Dr. Stow. This duty others will perform. Some 
impressions, however, made upon my mind by long and 
familiar intercourse with him may properly find a place here. 

Taken all in all, as a man, as a Christian, and as a minister 
of the gospel, he stood in the foremost rank in the city of his 
adoption. The respect and affection cherished for him by 
Christians of all denominations showed how well he sustained 
his position in his more general relations to society. In all 
those great enterprises in which evangelical Christians were 
united, he was a prominent actor. An unusual degree of 
confidence was reposed in him. In this respect his name may 
be justly placed side by side with the names of Baldwin and 
Sharp. 

He was highly valued for his substantial worth, and greatly 
loved for his uniform courtesy and kindness. As w r as nat- 
ural, he was often called upon to speak on public occasions, 
and was generally exceedingly happy and successful in his 
efforts. Strong and vigorous in thought; forcible and pointed, 
as well as fluent, in expression ; emphatic, and almost de- 
clamatory, as well as graceful, in his delivery, — he was one of 
the most powerful, and, at the same time, the most winning, 



db'j MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

of our public speakers on such occasions. As a preacher in 
his own church, he gave his people, during the year, as many- 
sound, substantial gospel sermons, perhaps, as any clergyman 
in Boston. This was the testimony of Mr. Thomas Edmands, 
not long before his death ; and he was a constant attendant at 
his church for many years, and confessedly a good judge. I 
often preached for him one part of the day, and heard him 
the other ; and rarely did I listen to a discourse which was 
not above mediocrity. 

His kind and affectionate treatment of the members of his 
church and congregation was always observable. He knew 
them when he met them on the street, and never passed 
them without making them the happier for it. Not only 
have I myself witnessed this kindly and genial intercourse 
of his with his people, but some of my family, who belonged 
to his church, received impressions from his cordial and ten- 
der solicitude that will never be forgotten. 

I was associated with him much during the trying scenes 
of the " abolition " excitement, when hard things were some- 
times said, even by good men. I never knew him to utter 
an unkind word, or to wound the feelings of any of his 
brethren. If he ever suffered from the harshness of others, 
it was manifested only by a flush upon his countenance, and 
by covering his face with his hand — a characteristic attitude 
in moments of trial. This had, in j^art, a physical cause, as 
he was constitutionally subject to a rush of blood to the 
head. He always avoided strife and bitterness. When he 
could not speak courteously and kindly, he would not speak 
at all. Though affable to every one, he avoided intimacy 
with contentious persons. He was naturally extremely sen- 
sitive, and could never enjoy, in any high degree, the society 
of minds cast in a different mould. He loved to be with 
warm and sympathizing friends, and at such times his flash- 
ing eye and beaming countenance cast a sunshine on all 
around him. His conversation, though cheerful, and often 
playful, was never trifling. Few men have so rarely had 
occasion to regret an inconsiderate word. Foolish expres- 



CONCLUSION. 367 

sions no one ever heard from his lips. In all these respects 
he was a model of propriety. Faults and weaknesses he 
undoubtedly had, for he was human ; but they were so allied 
to virtue, that one cannot have a heart to name them. The 
particular place which he held in the hearts of his friends 
cannot be given to another. There will always be a little 
sanctuary reserved for him. Others I shall admire and love, 
but for me there can never be another Baron Stow. 

Affectionately yours, 

B. Sears. 



Our task is done. If we have succeeded in leaving upon 
the minds of our readers definite impressions of the ministe- 
rial character of Dr. Stow, if just conceptions have been 
formed of him in the relation which he prized above all other 
relations, — that of an affectionate, laborious pastor of a 
church of Christ, — we have acconrplished the object contem- 
plated in the preparation of this Memoir. Incidentally we 
have referred to what he did with his pen. It would have 
been easy to have written page after page, setting forth his 
ability as a writer, and giving analyses of the works which 
he prepared for the press. His published sermons and ad- 
dresses would make a good-sized volume. His connection 
with the Psalmist, as one of the compilers of the collection 
of hymns so generally used in our churches, is well known. 
His papers on subjects connected with missions are very 
numerous. In various departments of religious literature, 
he exhibited the skill and good taste of the " ready writer." 
His Doctrinal Question Book — his Daily Manna — his 
Whole Family in Heaven — are examples of the facility 
with which he wrote on matters of living interest to the 
church of Christ. So, too, we might have dwelt largely on 
the rare executive ability he displayed in positions of trust, 
as a member of the corporation of Brown University, in both 
of its boards, as a trustee of Harvard College, and Newton 
Theological Institution. We might have taken our readers 



300 MEMOIR OF DR. STOW. 

to the rooms of the executive committee of the Missionary- 
Union, and shown them the deference which was paid to his 
opinions by his associates in office ; how he moulded and 
shaped the policy and the action of the committee, and made 
his influence to be felt, on a large scale, in both hemispheres 
We might have dwelt on his catholic spirit, his love for all 
the true disciples of Jesus wherever they were found, the 
esteem in which he was held by good men of all denomina- 
tions in the city which, for nearly forty years, was his home. 
But, as our most exalted conception of Baron Stow is that 
which we form of him as preacher and pastor, it has been our 
wish to convey this conception to the minds of our readers. 
The pulpit was his throne ; the church of Christ, when it 
came up to his ideal of what it should be, his paradise on 
earth. On that throne he swayed the sceptre of a monarch 
who might justly claim to be a legate from the skies. In 
that paradise he serenely walked, drawing all souls to him by 
the magnetism which ever goes forth from a pure heart and a 
holy life. Our best thought of him is, that he belonged to 
that company of choice spirits who, after the toils and con- 
flicts of life are over, " shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament," and, having turned many to righteousness, shall 
be " as the stars forever and ever." 



THE END. 



INDEX. 



A.. Page 

Adams, President John Quincy, 44, 218 

Alabama Resolutions, 203, 230 

Anderson, M. B., 216, 358 

AraCoeli, 160 

Ash Wednesday at Rome, 159 

Avignon, 144 

B. 

Babcock, R., D. D., 28, 62, 71, 94 

Baird, Rev. R., . 139, 142 

Baldwin, T., D. D., 19, 48, 87, 90 

Baldwin Place Church, 80, 86, 87, 180, 219, 223 

Baldwin Place Church, Letters to, . . . 105, 135, 136, 140, 150, 220 

Bartlett, Hon. I., 85 

Beal, Deacon S., 131, 238 

Belfast, Ireland, 271 

Bennett, " Elder," 212 

Bexley, Lord, 183 

Blagden, G. W., D. D., 56 

Boardman, Rev. G. D., 46, 76 

Bois de Boulogne, 280 

Bowdoin Square Church, 133, 134 

Bowles's Across the Continent, 310 

Bright, E., D. D., 211, 325 

Brock, W., D. D., 271 

Brown, J. N., D. D., 94 

Brown, Rev. 0. B., 32, 33 

Buckingham, Joseph, 139 

24 (369) 



370 INDEX. 

Bunyan, John, 274 

Burmah, Missionaries set apart for, 97 

Burns, Anthony, 251 

Burroughs, C, D. D., 85 

Butler, Bishop, 245 

c. 

Calhoun, Hon. J. C, 44 

Calvinism a Power, 336 

Calvin, John, 173, 270, 337 

Carey, Rev. E., 43 

Carey, W., D. D., 43 

Carnival, 158 

Cass, General Lewis, 138, 139 

Caswell, A., D. D., LL. D., 28, 31, 46 

Catacombs, 165 

Cenis, Mont, Crossing, 168 

Chase, I., D. D., 28, 43, 47, 51, 70 

Chalmers, T., D. D., 15, 243 

Chamberlain, Deacon E., 88 

Chamberlain, E., 193 

Chamberlain, E. D., 264 

Chaplin, J., D. D., 70, 72 

Christian Brotherhood, 264, 321 

Christian Review, 357 

Civita Vecchia, 148 

Cincinnati, Ninth Street Church, 199 

Clay, Hon. Henry, 36, 43 

Colosseum, 161 

Columbian College, . . . : 24, 27 

Corso at Rome, 189 

Conant, T., D. D., . . , . . 28 

Convention, Triennial, 27 

Court, United States, 36, 37, 39 

Cowper, William, 38, 273, 277 

Crockett, Col. Selden, 328 

Colby, Mrs. Sarah, . .......'... 328 

Cushman, R. W., D. D., 28, 47, 329 

D. 

Dean, W., D. D., ...... . 213, 354 

Denmark, New York, . 185 

Dickens, Charles, 139 



INDEX. 371 

Doddridge, Philip, 275 

Duff, Rev. Dr., .251 

Dunbar, Rev. Dr., 65 

E. 

Earle, Rev. A. B., 311 

Edmands, B. F., 352 

Eliot, Hon. T. D., 28 

Elton, Romeo, D. D., 41 

Ely, Rev. Richard M., * 46 

Evangelism, Views on, 311 

Everett, Edward, 52, 54, 167 

F. 

Fenner, J. P., 45 

Ferney, 269 

Fletcher, Hon. R., 207, 211, 329 

Frankfort on the Maine, 267 

Freeman, Rev. E. W., 100 

Frey, Rev. J., 47 

Fuller, Andrew, 35, 270, 275, 349 

Fuller, Richard, D. D., 218, 355 

G. 

Gair, S. S., 175, 268 

Gammell, Prof. W., 27 

Garrison, W. L., 101 

Geneva, 172 

Genoa, 147 

Gordon, Rev. A. J., . . ' 341 

Gould, Dr. A. A., 311 

Granville College, 197 

Greenleaf, Hon. S., 250 

Griscom's Year in Europe, 38 

Gurney, Hon. N., 134 

H. 

Hague, W., D. D., 93, 115 

Hamilton, James, D. D., 271 

Hart, Deacon H. B., 67 

Heidelberg, 267, 282 

Hinton, Rev. J. H., 183 

Howard, Rev. L., 17, 18 

Howe, Rev. W., , . , 132 



372 index. 



I. 

Ingersoll, Hon. C. J., 37 

Irving, E., 271 

Irving, W., 14 

J. 

Jackson, Andrew, 36, 103 

Jacobs, Eev. B., 105 

Jefferson, Thomas, 65 

Jenks, W., D.D., 312 

Jones, Prof. J., 28 

Judson, A., D.D., 199, 204, 208 

K. 

Kendrick, Rev. A., 47 

Kilpin, Eev. S., 113 

King, Rev. A., . 18, 101 

Kirk, E. N., D. D., 177 

Knapp, Rev. Jacob, 178, 192 

Knowles, Prof. J. D., 28, 78, 79, 81, 82, 87, 120, 126 

L. 

Lafayette, General, 43 

Laura, Tomb of, 174 

Leghorn, 147 

Lent, Influence of, 165 

Letter from, 

Anderson, M. B., 353 

Beal and Pratt, 238 

Dean, W., 354 

Fuller, R., 355 

Peck, S., 192 

Sears, B., 357 

Stevens, J., 201 

Welch, B. T., 194 

Underhill, E. B., 317 

Letter to 

Beal, W. L., 189 

Chamberlain, E., 193 

Cone, S. H., ........... . 183, 185, 206, 207, 209, 261 

Dean, W., 323 

Emery, Mrs. C. R., 195 

Flanders, C. W., 296 



INDEX. 373 

Letter to 

Guild, R., 332 

Hart, H. B., 68, 833 

Hutchinson, E. J., 194 

Jones, Miss S. R., 185, 188 

King, A., 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28 

Lincoln, H., 289, 317 

Manning, J. W., 322 

Manning, S., . 214, 215 

Nettleton, Miss P. D., 234, 257 

Partridge, Mrs. J. H., 235, 258, 259, 260, 292, 294 

Partridge, S., 234 

Pearson, I., 320, 331 

Sears, B., 358, 359, 361, 362, 364 

Shurtleff, N. B., 319 

Stockbridge, J. C, 319 

Stow, Mrs. D. N., 186, 187, 190, 192 

Stow, Mrs. E. L., 278, 279, 281, 283, 284, 286 

Stow, Miss M. D., . . 279, 280, 281, 283, 288 

Williams, N. M., 297, 321 

Woods, A., 233 

Lexington, Burning of the, 131 

Lincoln, Abraham, 305, 309 

Lincoln, Deacon E., 89 

Lincoln, Deacon H., 239, 329 

Lucerne, 283 

Luminary, Latter-Day, 29 

Lyons, 143 

M. 

Maginnis, Rev. J., D. D., 79 

Malan, Rev. C, 172 

Mamertine Prison, 160 

Manning, Guild's Life of, 332 

Marseilles, 146 

Mason, Hon. J., 85 

Mayence, 281 

Mcllvaine, Rev. C, D. D., LL. D., 35, 38 

Mears, Mrs. C., 324 

Missions, Efficiency of Primitive, 121 

More, Hannah, 174 

Mailer's Life of Frost, 305 

Munich, 283 

Murdock, Rev. J. N., D. D., 347 



374 index. 

N. 

Naples, 148, 150, 154, 156 

Nassau, Grand Duchy of, 266 

Neale, Eev. R. H., D. D., 177, 341 

New Park Street Chapel, 174 

Noel, Hon. and Rev. Baptist W 157 

Northern Baptist Education Society, 359 

P. 

Paris, ' 138 

Pattison, Rev. R. E., D. D., 28, 71 

Payson, Rev. E., D. D., 34,69 

Peabody, Rev. A. P., D. D., 262 

Pearson, Rev. I., 40, 41 

Petrarch, 145 

Pierrepont Street Church, 238 

Pisa, 147 

Pompeii, 154 

Portsmouth, N. H., accepts call to, 62 

" " resigns, » 80 

Pratt, J. C., 238 

Putnam, Rev. I. W., 64 

B. 

Reminiscences by Caswell, A., . . 67 

" Child, W. C, 273 

" Hutchinson, E., 25 

" Lamson, W., 84 

" Sears, B., 357 

Revival of 1838, 120 

Revolution, Greek, 36 

Rhine, 266 

Rice, Rev. L., 56 

Richmond, Rev. Legh, 66 

Robertson, Rev. F. W., . . 310 

Rome, 157 

Roussel, Monsieur, 143 

Rowe Street Church, 238, 260, 802 

" " " Letter to, 298 

Ruggles, Prof. W., 28 

Ry land, Rev. R.,D.D., 46 



INDEX. 375 

s. 

Sabbath School Teacher, Advice to, 252 

Salem, Second Baptist Church, Call to, 70 

Scala Santa, 161 

Sears, Rev. B., D. D., 204, 357 

Secretary, Foreign Mission, elected, 99, 177 

Sermon, A useful, 117 

Sewell, Thomas, M. D 28 

Sharp, Rev. Daniel, D. D., 47, 82, 199, 250 

Sherman, General, 308 

Skinner, Miss E. L., 55 

Slavery, 202 

Spurgeon, Rev. C. H., 270, 288 

Star, Columbian, 30, 53 

Staughton, Rev. W., D. D., 28, 35, 36 

Steuben, Baron, 14 

Stow, Peter, 13 

Sumter, Fort, 305 

u. 

Union, Christian, 123, 233, 362 

Union, Missionary, 213, 215, 253 

Unitarian Views, . . . 322 

Upper Alton, 111., 325 

V. 

Vatican, 161 

Vaucluse, 145 

Vesuvius, 155 

Vicksburg, Fall of, 308 

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, 311 

Virginia Hospitality, 32 

Voltaire, . 269 

w. 

Watchman and Reflector, 335, 343 

War, Civil, 304 

Waterville College 21, 176, 181 

Wayland, Rev. F., D. D., LL. D., 60, 138 

Webster, Hon. D., 37 

Weisbaden, 266 



376 ENDEX. 

Whitefield, Rev. George, 76 

Windsor Castle, 173 

Wolf, Rev. Joseph, 44 

Woodbury, Hon. Levi, 85 

Woods, Rev. A., D. D., 28 

Worship in England, ♦ 174 

z. 

Zurich, ^ 267, 284 



THE MODEL PRAYER CHRIST GAVE TO HIS DISCIPLES. 



THE MODEL PEAYER: 

A Course of Lectures on the Lord's 
Prayer. 

BY 

REV. GEO. C. BALDWIN, D. D. 

±to. Mor. Cloth. $1.50. 

" Lee & Shepard, Boston, issue an elegant volume entitled ' The Model Prayer, ' 
containing a course of eleven lectures by the Rev. Dr. Geo. C." Baldwin. One 
who has not reflected on the subject will be surprised to see how much food for 
thought can be found in each of the sentences of that familiar form of supplica- 
tion, the Lord's Prayer. 'The Model Prayer — the Divine Fatherhood — His 
Name — His Kingdom — His Will — Daily Food — Forgiveness of Sin — the 
Limit of our Plea — Temptation — Deliverance from Evil — the Argument' — 
each furnishes the starting point for an interesting discourse ; and while certainly 
no explanation of a prayer so simple can be needed by the least intelligent, yet a 
careful examination of its words and import, such as is given here, must aid the 
reader in appreciating its sublimity and perfection. Type, paper, and binding are 
appropriately beautiful." — Cultivator, Albany, N. Y. 

" It is said that on one occasion, the elder Booth recited the Lord's Prayer in a 
parlor. At the close of the recitation, an old man thanked him, with streaming 
eyes, saying that he had repeated that prayer every day from his childhood, but 
had never heard it before — never ! 

" We have somewhat the feeling of that old man, as we lay down Dr. Baldwin's 
book, ' The Model Prayer,' for though we have heard and repeated it from a child, 
we have never before so fully realized the heights and depths, the pathos and gran- 
deur contained in its simple words. Reverencing the prayer, reading it as a won- 
derful epitome of human necessities, a model for petition, proving in itself the 
divinity of its author, still'we were inclined to think that all the commentary upon 
it which could prove useful and practical, could be embraced in half the space Dr. 
B. has occupied. He speaks of the familiarity of his hearers with the prayer, and i 
says : ' If you will patiently accompany me through its exposition, I hope to show 
you that it has higher heights, deeper depths, broader and more comprehensive 
ranges of truth than you ever dreamed of.' After reading the book, we acknowl- 
edge he has well carried out his intention, and shown us that the Lord's Prayer 
is far from short.". — Christian Herald, Nashville, Tenn. 



Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, and sent by mail, 
postpaid, on receipt of price. 

LEE & SHEPAKD, Publishers, Boston. 

Lee, Shepard & Dillingham, 47 and 49 Green St., New York. 



«* BRTTiTjIAJST -AJCXj tecrottgkh:. 



CREDO. 

One volume. 16mo. $1.50. 



Some Extracts from Notices by the Press. 

" Discusses theology from a strictly evangelical stand- 
point." Observer, New York. 

" We think there is a necessity for such books as this." 

Presbyterian, Philadelphia. 

" Written in a crisp, vivacious, transparent style." 

Liberal Christian. 

" A clear thinker and close reasoner." Cong. Quarterly. 

" Contains a vast deal of truth." Month. Relig. Magazine. 

"We commend this book to every doubting, debating 
mind." Zion's Herald, Boston. 

" Cannot fail to interest the thinking public." 

Advertiser, Detroit. 

" Will create no less sensation than ' Ecce Homo.'" 

Democrat, Rochester. 

" A vigorous writer and deep thinker." Journal, Albany. 

" Clear, earnest, and forcible." Spy, Worcester. 

" Will be read with close attention by Christians gener- 
ally." Post, Pittsburgh. 

" The author shows great powers of argument, based on 
a thorough knowledge of his subject." N. Y. Express. 

" Will interest any one who has thought at all on these 
subjects." Western Monthly. 

" Theological libraries ought to have this Credo." 

Christian Advocate, Pittsburgh. 

" Will be welcomed by orthodox Christians of every de- 
nomination." N, A. & U. S. Gazette, Phila. 

" Reviews nearly every department of modern scientific 
discovery." Republican, Lyons, N. Y. 

"An able, earnest protest against the indifference and 
scepticism of the day." Herald, Utica. 

Sold by all Booksellers, and sent by mail, prepaid, on re- 
ceipt of price, by 

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. 



"A. ipoeim: written est prose." 

GATES WIDE OPEN; 

OR, SCENES IN ANOTHER WORLD. 

BY GEORGE WOOD. 

One volume. i6mo. $1.50. 



Excerpts from the Reviewers. 

" It may jostle some of those mentally lethargic people 
into thought." Star in the West, Cincinnati. 

" Some suggestions may give us clearer views of what the 
Bible teaches." Mother's Journal, Chicago. 

" The central idea of the work is to awaken thought." 

Democrat, Davenport, Iowa. 

"Will elicit attention from the novelty of treatment." 

Chronicle, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

" Tells us all about the scenes and doings in the other 
world." Standard, Jamaica, L. I. 

" His views are bold and original, without being irrever- 
ent." News, Fall River. 

"We are glad to have the subject discussed." 

Universalist Quarterly* 

"A number of illustrious persons are met, including 
Satan." Express, Buffalo. 

" It is a sensational novel, the scene of which is laid 
partly in heaven and partly in New York." Prairie Farmer. 

" Is written in very easy-flowing English, and is enter- 
taining." Post, Hartford, Conn. 

"An attempt to picture the sights and scenes in another 
world ; with what success, who knows ? " Cultivator, Boston. 

" With a bold hand he has flung wide open the gates of 
Paradise." Journal, Indianapolis. 

"An ingenious work, which attempts to describe the 
world, or rather -worlds, of bliss." National Baptist. 

" It does not make the first joy of heaven in seeing ' Roy,' 
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The Sunday-School Commentary. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT; 

With Notes, Pictorial Illustrations, 
and References. 

By Rev. Israel P. Warren, D. D. 

The first volume of this work embraces the Gospels and Acts of the Apos- 
tles. It is designed to be a concise yet complete commentary, exlii biting 
the results of the best and most recent biblical scholarship, as given by 
Alford, Lange, Olshausen, Tholuck, Trench, Stuart, Robinson, Hackett, 
and others. The notes are both explanatory and practical. 

The text of the Gospels is divided into sections numbered to correspond 
to a Chronological Harmony given in tabular form. An Alphabetical In- 
dex is appended, by which the leading events and topics can be referred to 
without the aid of a Concordance. 

Numerous pictorial illustrations are given, chiefly of eastern customs and 
places. Also three maps : i Colored Map of Palestine : 2. The Sea of 
Galilee and the surrounding Region : 3. The missionary journeys of the 
apostle Paul. 

The first volume is complete in itself, and is now ready. The second 
is in course of preparation. 

The fact that this work was first published by the American Tract Society 
(Boston ) is a sufficient guaranty of its merit and its theological soundness. 

It is believed to be one of the most convenient, complete, and inexpensive 
aids in family and Sabbath-school instruction to be found. 

Published by Lee & Shepard, Boston ; and Lee, Shepard & Dillino 
ham, New York. Price, $2.00. 

For sale also by Broughton & Wyman, 13 Bible House, New York ; 
H. A. Sumner, no Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. ; and by the Author, 52 
Washington Street, Boston. 

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